The Senate has confirmed Martha Johnson as head of the General Services Administration, nearly 10 months after President Obama nominated her for the job.

The Feb. 4 vote was unanimous. Johnson’s nomination had been stalled by a senate rule that allows a single member to block a vote.

Sen. Kit Bond, R-MO, threw up the roadblock because he wanted GSA to promise to build a new federal building in his home state.

Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-CT, said, Johnson “is extremely well qualified and very much needed at the General Services Administration.” Lieberman heads the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, which recommended confirmation of Johnson in June.

Rep. Glenn Nye, D-VA, asked VA Secretary Eric Shinseki to do more to fight fraud in the service-disabled veterans contracting program.

“There are unscrupulous businesses out there systematically gaming the system to defraud our veterans, and we need to be just as systematic in fighting back and closing loopholes,” Nye said after a Jan. 21 meeting with the secretary.

He said they discussed how to speed up completion of the VA database that will verify the eligibility of SDV companies. Nye chairs the House Small Business Committee’s Subcommittee on Contracting and Technology.

The Government Accountability Office found 10 ineligible companies that received more than $100 million in contracts intended for SDVs. Auditors said the contracting program is open to fraud because companies are allowed to self-certify their eligibility.

A sweet government contract: Edward Marc Chocolatier was scheduled to open a chocolate shop inside the Pentagon. The company won the spot in the Pentagon shopping area through competitive bidding. About 30,000 potential customers work in the building.