Senate Panel Endorses Procurement Nominee The Senate Governmental Affairs Committee has unanimously recommended confirmation of David Safavian, President Bush’s nominee to head OMB’s Office of Federal Procurement Policy. The nomination now goes to the full Senate. Safavian is a 36-year-old attorney, former congressional staffer, lobbyist and, most recently, chief of staff of the General Services Administration. He would succeed Angela Styles, who resigned in September. At his confirmation hearing before the committee last month, he recalled working in his grandfather’s small auto parts plant as a teenager and pledged support for small businesses. He said his top priority will be recruiting, retention and training of the government’s acquisition workforce. If confirmed, Safavian will likely become the point man for the administration’s competitive sourcing initiative. Several congressional committees have proposed legislation to limit that initiative, but he told the senators he believes much of the opposition is based on misunderstanding. While unions have called competitive sourcing a giveaway to contractors, OMB reported that federal employees won 89% of the jobs that were put up for competition in fiscal 2003.