Senator Blocks GSA Nominee A senior Republican senator is blocking the nomination of James Williams to head the General Services Administration. Sen. Charles Grassley, R-IA, said he believes Williams may have “improperly interfered” in contract negotiations with Sun Microsystems in 2006. Under Senate rules, a single member can block a vote by placing a “hold” on the nomination. The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee unanimously recommended Williams for the post. President Bush nominated him to would succeed Lurita Doan, who was forced to resign by the White House. Grassley has been the most persistent critic of Doan’s and Williams’ handling of the Sun negotiations. The GSA inspector general found that Sun had overcharged the government on its GSA schedule contract, but Doan pushed for renewal of the contract. The GSA contracting officers who was conducting the negotiations told the IG that Williams told him, “Lurita wants this contract awarded.” The contracting officer was replaced, and another officer awarded the contract. In a statement, Grassley said Williams, who then headed the Federal Acquisition Service, “was the top GSA official responsible for making the tough calls, and he chose not to protect the taxpayers. He made the wrong choice. He is now accountable for that decision.” At his confirmation hearing on July 25, Williams told the committee he did not pressure the contracting officer to award a contract that was not in the government’s best interest. Committee Chairman Joseph Lieberman, I-CT, and the ranking Republican, Susan Collins of Maine, both said Williams had satisfied their concerns about the Sun matter. Collins said, “I don’t know if his actions were perfect in retrospect, but I am convinced that his motivations were always in the best interest of the taxpayers.” The current acting GSA administrator, David Bibb, plans to retire in September.