Safavian confirmed to head OFPP

After more than a year without a federal government procurement chief, the Senate last month confirmed David Safavian as administrator for the Office of Federal Procurement Policy.

Safavian has been working for the past 12 months at the Office of Management and Budget as a counselor to Clay Johnson, OMB's deputy director for management.

Safavian "has some big ideas about what he wants to do with procurement, and it is not all laissez faire," said Larry Allen, executive director of the Coalition for Government Procurement, a Washington trade association.

Allen said Safavian will continue to push competitive sourcing, performance-based contracting and share-in-savings contracting as well as make sure contractors meet performance metrics.

Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) held up Safavian's nomination for several months with concerns about how Safavian would handle the administration's competitive sourcing agenda. After Byrd removed the hold, the Senate waited until after the election to confirm any of President Bush's nominations.