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DorobekINSIDER: Johnson sworn in as GSA administrator — telework style

GSA — the long wait is over.

The General Services Administration now has a new administrator. The DorobekINSIDER has confirmed that Martha Johnson was sworn in as GSA administrator on Sunday — by phone. The phone swearing was first reported by the Washington Post’s Federal Eye.

GSA officials confirmed that Acting Administrator Steve Leeds called Johnson at her Annapolis home on Sunday to administer the oath of office. Johnson’s husband, Steve, served as the official witness.

Johnson was confirmed by the Senate last week. And she was scheduled to be sworn in today. DC’s snowpocalypse delayed that to Thursday. All of that created this odd situation where Johnson was confirmed — but not yet in that job.

Somewhat curiously, GSA decided to do the phone swearing in on Sunday night.

GSA officials say that the phone oath is legal — and was necessary because of the snow.

GSA last had a permanent administrator nearly two years ago when Lurita Doan stepped down from that post.

Written by cdorobek
February 9, 2010
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Tags: Circuit, Contracting, Executive, Executives, GSA, Policy, Technology, Transition, Whose In and Whose Out, procurement

DorobekINSIDER: Johnson sworn in as GSA administrator — by phone

GSA — the long wait is over.

Somewhat curiously, GSA decided to do the phone swearing in on Sunday night.

GSA officials say that the phone oath is legal — and was necessary because of the snow.

GSA last had a permanent administrator nearly two years ago when Lurita Doan stepped down from that post.

Written by cdorobek
February 9, 2010
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Tags: Circuit, Contracting, Executive, Executives, GSA, Policy, Technology, Transition, Whose In and Whose Out, procurement

DorobekINSIDER: DC snowpocalypse delays swearing in ceremony for GSA’s Johnson

DC’s snowpocalypse has delayed the swearing in ceremony for GSA’s newly confirmed administrator Martha Johnson. The DorobekINSIDER told you last week that the swearing in ceremony was scheduled to be Tuesday at 2p ET at GSA HQ. But given that there is yet another storm eying the Nation’s Capital, GSA officials have decided to delay that ceremony to Thursday, Feb. 11 at 2p ET at GSA HQ.

The note to staff:

Martha Johnson Swearing-In Moved to Thursday Good Afternoon GSA

Due to the inclement weather in and around the Washington, D.C. metro area we have decided to postpone our welcoming for Martha Johnson. The
Swearing-In Town Hall event has been tentatively rescheduled for Thursday, February 11 at 2 p.m. For employees in Central Office, we will continue to keep you updated on details for attending the event. For employees in the regions, we will be sure to update you on how to watch the ceremony on InSite.

Thank you for your patience!

Frankly, I’m not sure what Johnson is able to do pre-swearing in — whether that is a formality. I’ve asked, but if you know…

Written by cdorobek
February 8, 2010
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Tags: Contracting, Executive, Executives, GSA, Technology, Transition, nominations, procurement

DorobekINSIDER: Most read 1.31 through 2.6: GSA’s Johnson, snow, pay raise, cyber-war

The most read stories from the week of January 31-February 6, 2010… on the DorobekInsider.com, on the Daily Debrief with Chris Dorobek and Amy Morris, for Mike Causey, and for FederalNewsRadio.com…

…from the DorobekInsider.com…

from the Daily Debrief with Chris Dorobek and Amy Morris…

…for Mike Causey’s Federal Report…

… and from FederalNewsRadio.com …

Written by cdorobek
February 7, 2010
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Tags: DorobekInsider, Federal News Radio, Management, Most read items, Policy, Technology

DorobekINSIDER: GSA’s Martha Johnson to be sworn in Tuesday, Feb. 9

Less then 12 hours after she was confirmed by the Senate, GSA soon-to-be-sworn-in administrator Martha Johnson has reached out to GSA staff — and is seeking their questions and ideas.

The note confirms what the DorobekINSIDER told you — that the official swearing in will be take place Tuesday, Feb. 9 at 2p at GSA headquarters.

The note sent out to staff today:

On Thursday, Feb. 4, the U.S. Senate confirmed Martha N. Johnson as Administrator of General Services. We are excited to welcome her back to our family. On Tuesday, Feb. 9, at 2 pm EST, we will host a swearing-in town hall, which will be broadcast live on GSA InSite. You will be able to witness Martha taking the Oath of Office and ask her questions about the future of GSA. For Central Office employees the event will be held in the GS Building Auditorium; for those in the region, we hope you will join us live via InSite. If you would like to submit a question for Martha, do so at askmartha@gsa.gov.

We hope to see you there!

Martha brings to GSA the combination of experience and a record of leadership in both the public and private sectors. Most recently, she served as co-lead for the Obama Presidential Transition Agency Review Team for GSA. Martha served as GSA Chief of Staff from 1996 to 2001, under then Administrator David Barram. From 1993 to 1996, she was Assistant Deputy Secretary at the Department of Commerce. Under the Clinton Administration, Martha also served in the Office of Presidential Personnel.

Since 2007, Martha has served as Vice President of Culture at Computer Sciences Corporation, helping to direct a change in corporate culture within the 90,000-person organization. Previously, she was Vice President at SRA International, managing a strategic consulting group that served federal clients.

Martha received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Oberlin College and Master of Business Administration from Yale University.

Written by cdorobek
February 5, 2010
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Tags: Circuit, Contracting, GSA, Management, Technology, Whose In and Whose Out, procurement

DorobekINSIDER: Welcome to the new GSA administrator, Martha N. Johnson

We’ve been following the saga forever, but the vote finally happened Thursday afternoon — we had it live as it happened on Federal News Radio 1500 AM’s Daily Debrief with Chris Dorobek and Amy Morris — the Senate first voted to close debate on the Johnson nomination … and then proceeded to confirm Martha N. Johnson as the new administrator of the General Services Administration.

We hear that the swearing in ceremony will take place Tuesday, February 9th at 2p at GSA headquarters. (I’m working on official confirmation, but… this is the word at the moment.)

One curious note: When the vote was first taken, it was 94-2 — four senators (Coburn, Benett, Isaskson and Hutchinson) did not vote — and two senators, Jim Bunning and Jeff Sessions, voted against. But the officially tally as posted by the Senate’s Web site shows a 96-0 vote. I’m not sure how that works, exactly. And, ironically, Sen. Kit Bond (R-MO) — the senator who had held up Johnson’s vote — voted to confirm Johnson. But that came after an impassioned floor speech.

That’s the news. Below, you’ll find Johnson’s first public comments coming from the GSA press release… Sens. Lieberman and Collins comments… and Bond’s floor speech itself…

First off, Johnson speaks out in a GSA press release:

“My priority as Administrator will be to put GSA’s expertise to work developing and executing policies and products that will create a greener, more efficient, more cost-effective, more open, and more responsible government,” Johnson added. “By building on GSA’s success thus far, we will provide a streamlined platform for our customer agencies to implement innovative technologies and solutions to decrease government operating costs and increase efficiencies in government service delivery.”

Read the full release here.

Meanwhile, Sen. Kit Bond’s floor speech about GSA and Martha Johnson, which runs about 12-minutes:

I have also pulled selective clips from Sen. Bond’s speech.

Here is Bond defending his hold – particularly after President Obama chided senators for holds for unrelated items, although he didn’t mention Bond or anybody by name. Here is the President on Tuesday:

We’ve got a huge backlog of folks who are unanimously viewed as well qualified, nobody has a specific objection to them, but end up having a hold on them because of some completely unrelated piece of business. That’s an example … of the kind of stuff that Americans just don’t understand.

Bond says the people he is protecting are the feds in Kansas City (0:27):

Bond: Johnson’s qualifications are not in doubt (0:12)

Bond: GSA needs to do their job (0:17)

Finally, the release from Sens. Joe Lieberman (ID-CT) and Susan Collins (R-ME) of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee :

LIEBERMAN, COLLINS HAIL MARTHA JOHNSON’S CONFIRMATION
Senate Votes 94-2

WASHINGTON—Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Joe Lieberman, ID-Conn., and Ranking Member Susan Collins, R-Me., Thursday welcomed the confirmation of Martha Johnson to be General Services Administration (GSA) Administrator. Johnson, who was unanimously approved by the Committee on June 8, 2009, was confirmed by a vote of 94-2. Her confirmation had been blocked for six months for reasons unrelated to her qualifications.

“I am delighted the Senate has finally voted to confirm Ms. Johnson, an extremely qualified and experienced nominee, so she can begin her important work on behalf of the American people,” Lieberman said. “The hold that had been placed on her for six months had nothing to do with her qualifications or personal history. Her nomination received the unanimous support of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee in June and she has overwhelming bipartisan support in the full Senate.

“We cannot continue the practice of holding nominees ‘hostage’ for parochial reasons unrelated to a nominee’s ability to do the job they’ve been they’ve been nominated for. These kinds of things anger the public and damage the Senate as an institution.

“Given her experience as a former GSA Chief of Staff, Ms. Johnson knows the agency inside and out and is prepared to hit the ground running. I am grateful that GSA will now have the stable leadership it needs.”

Collins said: “Martha Johnson has significant experience in both the private sector and the federal government. She served previously as GSA’s Chief of Staff, helping to lead that agency at a time of substantial change. Today, the GSA faces even greater challenges and demands than when Ms. Johnson served there more than eight years ago. I am confidence she will provide much-needed leadership to this agency that provides many important procurement services to the federal government.”

Yesterday on Federal News Radio 1500 AM’s Daily Debrief with Chris Dorobek and Amy Morris, we spoke with Bob Woods, the president of TopSide Consulting and the former commissioner of GSA’s then Federal Technology Service. He noted that one of the challenges Johnson faces is the pent up anticipation around her nomination — there is so much hope for her, if she doesn’t walk on water, people will end up being disappointed.

I’m sure she will be getting a lot of advice in the coming days, weeks, months… and years.

Written by cdorobek
February 5, 2010
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Tags: Circuit, Congress, Contracting, Executive, Executives, GSA, Management, Technology, Transition, White House, Whose In and Whose Out, nominations, procurement

DorobekINSIDER: CA CIO Teri Takai to be named DOD CIO

The much respected California CIO Teri Takai will be named the Defense Department CIO, insiders confirm. She told her staff yesterday.

The Takai appointment was first reported by NextGov’s Bob Brewin, but the official announcement could come very soon, insiders say.

The DOD CIO post has been vacant since John Grimes retired in April 2009.

Takai is widely respected among state CIOs. She has served as the California CIO since December 2007. Before that, she served as the director of the Michigan Department of Information Technology from 2003 to 2007.

Takai has been expected to take a federal post. It just wasn’t clear what job she would take.

Brewin says:

If Takai gets the nod, she would be the first woman Defense CIO and the first without any experience in the military.

Takai’s bio from the State of California:

On December 6, 2007, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced the appointment of Teri Takai as Chief Information Officer for the State of California. As a member of the Governor’s cabinet, she advises him on the strategic management and direction of information technology resources as the state works to modernize and transform the way California does business with its citizens.

Prior to her appointment in California, Takai served as Director of the Michigan Department of Information Technology (MDIT) since 2003, where she also served as the state’s Chief Information Officer. In this position, she restructured and consolidated Michigan’s resources by merging the state’s information technology into one centralized department to service 19 agencies and over 1,700 employees. Additionally, during her tenure at the MDIT, Takai led the state to being ranked number one four years in a row in digital government by the Center for Digital Government.

Before serving in state government, Takai worked for the Ford Motor Company for 30 years, where she led the development of the company’s information technology strategic plan. She also held positions in technology at EDS and Federal-Mogul Corporation. In 2005, Takai was named “Public Official of the Year” by Governing magazine. She is Past-President of the National Association of State Chief Information Officers and currently serves as Practitioner Chair of the Harvard Policy Group on Network-Enabled Services and Government.

Takai earned a Master of Arts degree in management and a Bachelor of Arts degree in mathematics from the University of Michigan.

Written by cdorobek
February 4, 2010
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Tags: CIOs, DoD, Technology, Transition, Whose In and Whose Out

DorobekINSIDER: Why Brown’s ‘feds make double the private sector’ comparison is not fully accurate

On Monday, the DorobekINSIDER pointed you comments made by Senator elect Scott Brown (R-MA) where he said that feds made double the private sector.

Read the full comments here, but the relevant portion:

We need to put a freeze on federal hires and federal raises because, as you know, federal employees are making twice as much as their private counterparts.

Photo: ABC News

I have been asked, “How true are Brown’s stats?”

As I noted previously, I believe Brown is pulling from a December story in USAToday headlined, For feds, more get 6-figure salaries: Average pay $30,000 over private sector.

And we wanted to find out how accurate those data are. The long and short of it: They are accurate on their face, but… it isn’t necessarily a fair comparison.

Yesterday on Federal News Radio 1500 AM’s Daily Debrief with Chris Dorobek and Amy Morris, we spoke to Federal News Radio senior correspondent Mike Causey about this issue. Hear the entire conversation here.

But Causey tells us that technically what Senator elect Brown says is accurate. But as we all know, nothing lies like numbers — and it is not really a fair comparison for several reasons.

First: What’s an average? The federal government doesn’t employ many fast food workers, for example, or “greeters” at Target. To the contrary, the federal government employs scores very highly skilled workers — scientists, IT workers, attorneys, doctors. And if you compare what those feds are paid compared to what they could get in the private sector, it generally doesn’t compare.

There are other factors, of course. Federal employment is, by and large, very stable work — you don’t have to worry about the federal government filing for bankruptcy and having ones job disappear. Feds also have a pension plan and one of the best retirement plans anywhere in the Thrift Savings Plan.

The National Treasury Employees Union’s Colleen M. Kelley wrote an open letter to Senator elect Brown. (Hat tip to WP’s Federal Eye blogger Ed O’Hare.)

I wanted to set the record straight regarding your recent comments on “This Week” on ABC that federal employees earn twice as much as those who work in the private sector.

Based on Bureau of Labor Statistics surveys, the present gap between public and private sector workers is some 26 percent—in favor of the private sector. A law was passed in 1990—the Federal Employees Pay Comparability Act (FEPCA)—to close that gap between public and private sector pay in stages. It has not, however, been implemented as intended. The disparity identified more than a decade ago, between federal employees and their private sector counterparts, still exists.

Comparing salaries of federal employees and private sector employees is not an apples-to-apples comparison. The only appropriate way to make a fair pay comparison is to compare similar jobs with one another. The federal workforce is a white collar, highly-educated workforce, consisting of such professionals as doctors, attorneys and scientists in virtually every discipline.

The White House took note of the educational level of the federal workforce, pointing out in its budget blueprint that 20 percent of federal employees hold either a master’s or professional degree, or a doctorate. This contrasts with 13 percent in the private sector. Overall, 51 percent of federal employees hold at least a college degree compared to 35 percent in the private sector.

It is clear that a great many federal employees who could make more money—and quite possibly, much more money—in the private sector choose public service instead.

I hope as you become more familiar with the efforts of the men and women of the federal workforce, you will begin to see the direct connection between their day-to-day contributions to our nation and the well-being of the American public they serve so diligently.

Finally, the WSJ editorial page, which generally leans right, has an editorial today The Public-Union Ascendancy.

It’s now official: In 2009 the number of unionized workers who work for the government surpassed those in the private economy for the first time. This milestone explains a lot about modern American politics, in particular the paradox that union clout with Democrats has increased even as fewer workers belong to unions overall

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported recently that 51.4% of America’s 15.4 million union members, or about 7.91 million workers, were employed by the government in 2009. As recently as 1980, there were more than twice as many private as public union members. But private union membership has continued to decline, even as unions have organized more public employees. The nearby chart shows the historical trend.

Overall unionism keeps declining, however, with the loss of 771,000 union jobs amid last year’s recession. Only one in eight workers (12.3%) now belongs to a union, with private union employment hitting a record low of 7.2% of all jobs, down from 7.6% in 2008. Only one in 13 U.S. workers in the private economy pays union dues. In government, by contrast, the union employee share rose to 37.4% from 36.8% the year before.

Read the full editorial here.

Written by cdorobek
February 3, 2010
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Tags: Government Groups, Management, performance, Workforce, oversight

DorobekINSIDER: GSA will have to wait until at least Thursday for any Johnson action

It was thought that Tuesday might be GSA V-Day — as in Vote Day where the Senate would move along Martha Johnson’s long delayed nomination to be the administrator of the General Services Administration. But the phrase “so close yet so far” seems to be apt at this point.

We found out Tuesday evening that it was unlikely that the Senate would vote on the Johnson nomination.

Instead, the Senate spent most of the day debating the nomination of Patricia Smith to be the Labor Department solicitor. Smith’s nomination is controversial because she is accused of lying to lawmakers.

Because both the Smith and Johnson nomination have been held, Senate lawmakers have to take two votes for these nominations. The first is the vote on the cloture motion — technically, as I understand it, when a Senator puts a “hold” on a nomination, the nomination is open for debate. The cloture vote simply closes debate. And then it would all senators to move to the YES or NO vote for the confirmation. And the Senate has yet to complete work on Smith’s nomination before moving on to the Johnson cloture vote and, eventually, the actual confirmation vote.

Unlike Smith’s more controversial nomination, there haven’t been any questions about Johnson’s qualifications. To the contrary, most people have praised her qualifications and skills.

That being said, the Senate is now saying that action on Johnson’s nomination will not come until Thursday:

Johnson Nomination–Agreement: A unanimous-consent-time agreement was reached providing that on Thursday, February 4, 2010, upon disposition of the nomination of M. Patricia Smith, of New York, to be Solicitor for the Department of Labor, Senate resume consideration of the nomination of Martha N. Johnson, of Maryland, to be Administrator of General Services, and that there be two hours of debate prior to a vote on the motion to invoke cloture thereon; with the time equally divided and controlled between the two Leaders, or their designees ; that upon the use of time, Senate vote on the motion to invoke cloture thereon; that if cloture is invoked, all post-cloture time be yielded back, and Senate then vote on confirmation of the nomination.

Of course, Johnson’s vote has been held up by Sen. Kit Bond (R-MO) over a federal building in Kansas City.

Just last week, Bond again took GSA to task over the Kansas City federal building. This story is from Kansas City Star reporter Kevin Collison from just last week — January 28:

Bond blasts agency over plans for federal offices in downtown KC [January 28, 2010, Kansas City Star]

Sen. Kit Bond continues to battle a Washington official over a proposed federal office building for downtown Kansas City.

City officials remain confident the $175 million project is on track. But in a letter this week, Bond, a Missouri Republican, accused Robert Peck, the public building service commissioner for the federal General Services Administration, of failing to follow through on a promise to put funds in the 2011 budget.

The proposal, which would consolidate about 1,200 federal workers now at the Bannister Federal Complex into a new downtown building, has been in the works for several years.

It originally was proposed to be a private development, where the GSA would lease the space and the building would generate local taxes. But Peck said in October his office would support the plan only if it was built and owned by the government.

The story goes on to say that Bond and Peck were to meet sometime this week.

Read the full story here.

Back in August, we spoke with Kansas City Star reporter Kevin Collison on Federal News Radio 1500 AM’s Daily Debrief with Chris Dorobek and Amy Morris for background on the federal building deal. Get more here.

We are on full Johnson watch and we’ll let you know what happens.

Written by cdorobek
February 3, 2010
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Tags: Congress, Contracting, Executive, Executives, GSA, Transition, White House, Whose In and Whose Out, procurement

DorobekINSIDER: Operation Jump Start is a GO for tonight

We told you last week about Operation Jump Start, the marvelous program that helps soldiers of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom transition to civilian careers.

Washington has a chance of snow tonight — and there have been a number of questions about whether the event was a go. I just got word — it’s a go!

From the organizers:

Like the service men and women we are honoring and serving tonight we are undaunted by threats of any kind and “OPERATION JUMPSTART VI WILL BE HELD TONIGHT AS PLANNED! So don’t let a few snowflakes stop you from coming out tonight. BE BRAVE!

And if you haven’t registered, you and your donation are welcome at the door!!

Last week, Federal News Radio 1500 AM’s Daily Debrief with Chris Dorobek and Amy Morris spoke to Ed Meagher, who spearheads this event.

It’s a remarkable event to help some remarkable people.

Written by cdorobek
February 2, 2010
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Tags: Circuit, DoD, Technology, community