Federal 100: Rep. Gerry Connolly
Name: Rep. Gerry Connolly
Title: Congressman
Agency: U.S. House of Representatives
Reforming IT acquisition. Without Connolly's support, the Federal IT Acquisition Reform Act might have languished in Congress as a pet project of controversial Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.). Instead, Connolly will monitor the law's implementation from his perch on the Oversight and Government Reform Committee. Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) called Connolly "a true leader in efforts to improve the federal government's acquisition and use of information technology." And although Issa has joked that Connolly has often been "the bane of my existence," he praised his colleague for being an "advocate for technology and improvement in the government sector."