Week in Review

Talking to Lurita Doan for even a few minutes, one can tell that this is not Stephen Perry's General Services Administration. Just moments into Federal Computer Week¹s interview with the new administrator of GSA, Doan trumpeted, "I have the best job in government." Sure, the head of nearly every agency says that, but Doan is so passionate about her job and GSA that one believes her.

This job will undoubtedly be challenging for Doan, an entrepreneur who previously ran her own company. GSA is struggling with some big issues. But Doan's passion and focus are infectious. There is a very different feeling at 1800 F Street.

In her first month on the job, Doan has been more visible than her predecessor -- within GSA, with industry and with the press. She has a daily meeting with GSA's chief people officer to check on employees' concerns, she has been speaking with industry groups, and last week she sat down with us.

"Leadership matters," she said, and it is clear she believes she can help GSA be a better organization.

Other noteworthy news

The Homeland Security Department chose Roger Rufe, a retired Coast Guard vice admiral, as its new operations chief.… NASA’s supercomputer Columbia began assessing images of the space shuttle Discovery to determine whether foam debris might have damaged the shuttle during its launch July 4.… Lurita Doan, administrator of the General Services Administration, said employee buyouts should not be GSA’s first option for dealing with declining revenue.… A new federal regulation gives agencies more flexibility in deciding how to use earned value management systems to track the health of their information technology projects.… Raytheon acquired Virtual Technology, a modeling and simulation company that makes software for the Defense Department’s warfighter training.… Nine companies formed the HSPD-12 Interoperability Consortium to offer interoperable personal identity verification cards, public-key infrastructures, middleware, card credential management systems, and biometric and physical access systems for compliance with Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12.… The Department of Veterans Affairs completed an IT acquisition study that it will use in deciding whether to award a new contract for computer hardware and software or use an existing governmentwide contract.… The Coalition for Government Procurement said it wants GSA to eliminate restrictions on how prime contractors bill the government for subcontractors’ work when the agency solicits bids for IT products and services under the Alliant program.… DHS completed the National Infrastructure Protection Plan, which outlines policies and resources for protecting critical infrastructure and facilities.… DOD has mishandled the job of classifying secret documents because of poor employee training and lack of coordination, the Government Accountability Office reported.… Max Peterson, vice president of federal sales at CDW Government, left the company, according to CDW-G, which declined to elaborate.… Agency supervisors need better management training, said lawmakers and witnesses at hearings on workforce performance bills proposed by Sens. George Voinovich (R-Ohio) and Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii).… The House approved an appropriations bill amendment that would block the use of taxpayer funds for implementing competitive sourcing under the Office of Management and Budget’s three-year-old revisions to Circular A-76.… Price, service and response time — rather than established relationships with sales representatives — are the most important factors in state and local government IT purchasing decisions, according to a survey conducted by software maker Citrix Systems.… DHS selected 25 companies for the large-business portion of the agency’s IT acquisition program known as Enterprise Acquisition Gateway for Leading Edge solutions, or EAGLE.

For a collection of past weeks news, go to FCW.com's Online archive.