Davis new chairman of House Government Reform Committee

Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., was appointed chairman of the House Government Reform Committee Jan. 8. Davis most recently led the Government Reform subcommittee on technology and procurement policy. Previously he led the subcommittee on the District of Columbia.

Davis succeeds Rep. Dan Burton, R-Ind., as chair of the committee. Burton stepped down because House members are not allowed to hold a committee or subcommittee chairmanship for more than six years. Burton became chairman of the committee in 1997.

"I plan to build on the legacy of reform legislation I passed out of this committee as a subcommittee chairman: the D.C. Control Board Act, the National Capital Revitalization Act, the D.C. College Access Act, the Federal Information Security Management Act, the E-Gov Act, the Critical Infrastructure Information Act," Davis said. "And I want to continue to exercise the type of oversight that results in the enhanced efficiency of government programs and, in turn, savings for the taxpayer."

Davis said the Government Reform Committee is "ground zero" for streamlining the federal government, rooting out waste, fraud and abuse in government programs, and protecting the rights and interests of the American taxpayer.

Davis said his goals for the committee include:

* Advancing the President's Freedom to Manage agenda;
* Creating a performance-oriented civil service structure to attract and retain government workers;
* Closely monitoring large-dollar federal contracts to make sure the government is getting what it wants and maximizing taxpayer dollars;
* Tearing down the stovepipe structures that have characterized government technology systems;
* Improving cross-agency communication and lowering costs; and
* Addressing the challenges that remain in the post-Control Board era in the District of Columbia.