Obama Procurement Chief Nominee Clears Senate Panel

The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Wednesday approved President Obama’s choice to be administrator of the White House Office of Federal Procurement Policy. Committee members unanimously approved nominee Joseph Jordan, senior advisor to Office of Management and Budget, a position he has held since December 2011. Between 2009 and 2011, Mr. Jordan served as Associate Administrator for Government Contracting and Business Development at the Small Business Administration (SBA). Prior to joining SBA, Mr. Jordan was an engagement manager with McKinsey & Company, a global management consulting firm. Ranking member Susan Collins, R-Maine, said she was backing Jordan despite some questions as to whether he “will stand up to efforts by the Obama administration to introduce politics to the contracting process,” a reference to a draft executive order from the president that would require contracting companies to disclose campaign contributions. The draft executive order would have sent a message to contracting officials that campaign contributions should be a factor in their contracting decisions. AGC has long opposed efforts to paint all contractors, politicians or government contracting officials with a broad brush as suspect, and we have proactively supported procurement reform to improve delivery of federal construction services. AGC last year testified against the draft executive order noted above before the House Oversight & Government Reform and Small Business Committees. For more information, please contact Jimmy Christianson at 703-837-5325 or christiansonj@agc.org.