Leading Government Influencers

Getting the ear of the folks on Capitol Hill isn't always easy, but a handful of voices rise above most. Whether knocking down doors or driving change from within, these influencers speak for the channel, helping to shake dollars from the federal money tree.

Nothing encourages agencies to invest in technology more than a superior telling them they have no choice, and Karen Evans is just the person to do it. As administrator of the Office of Electronic Government and Information Technology at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Evans oversees IT implementation throughout the federal government. And she controls the cash.

These days, Evans would like to see dollars spent on the Lines of Business (LOB) initiatives that were included in President Bush's Management Agenda. In a nutshell, those encourage the implementation of common processes across government agencies, leading to increased efficiency.

On a quarterly basis, agencies are judged on their progress in each LOB, including the management of budgets and spending, grants, human resources, federal-health architecture and IT security, and, more recently, IT integration, geospatial investments and budgeting.

So, by setting and enforcing these lofty IT standards for agencies, Evans is an ally to industry. Perhaps as appreciated is her willingness to keep the lines of communication open with the contractors that help agencies meet those standards. Evans is a staple at events inside the Beltway and across the country. No doubt, as a former CIO of the Department of Energy, Evans understands the importance of partnerships with industry for making things happen.

If you ask contractors who pads their bottom lines most in driving IT in government, you'll hear one name most: Karen Evans.

Having a friend on the inside never hurts, especially when that friend leads a committee dedicated to gauging the appropriateness of government policy. Congressman Tom Davis understands the challenges facing federal contractors, and he is streamlining the procurement process.

Davis sympathizes with the plight of integrators serving the government. Prior to serving in the public sector, he was the vice president and general counsel of McLean, Va.-based PRC, a technology and professional services firm. Did he sell out by throwing his own hat in the ring of politics? Most will say no. He's made it his mission, in fact, to institute change from within.

Davis acknowledges, for example, that improper procurement processes prevent fair and open competition. He also understands that compliance with the Trade Association Act (TAA) in a global market hampers industry's ability to efficiently deliver solutions to government.

But what makes Davis more than just another talking head in Washington is that he doesn't merely grasp the challenges; he does something about them. To improve procurement, he drove the adoption of the Services Acquisition Reform Act of 2003, which builds on procurement reform initiatives of the '90s. As for TAA compliance, that's a work in progress. Davis has sat down with former U.S. trade representative Rob Portman, recently promoted to director of the OMB, and is determined to at least free commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) products from compliance requirements.

The Government Reform Committee is the vehicle that allows Davis to drive change. But the list of awards Davis has received and the committees on which he has served make it crystal-clear that the man makes the organization, not the other way around.

Lloyd Chapman will assert that 80 to 90 percent of contracts that purportedly go to small businesses actually end up in the hands of large companies, that the entire small-business government program is smoke and mirrors, and that President Bush is determined to stomp out any provisions made for the disadvantaged. Bold statements. But Chapman, president of the American Small Business League (ASBL), will also tell you that he's just getting started. His detractors call him a conspiracy theorist, a blowhard, but regardless, he has unearthed some questionable practices and lighted a fire under the Small Business Administration, the Office of the Inspector General and other watchdog agencies.

His latest victory? After reporting Insight Public Sector to the Inspector General for misrepresentation as a small business, the subsidiary of Tempe, Ariz.-based Insight Enterprises settled allegations for $1 million. It was no admission of guilt, but Chapman expects it to have a domino effect, spurring companies to think twice before using subsidiaries to claim small-biz status.

One of his latest targets, though, is not a big business but one of the most powerful federal agencies in Washington: the General Services Administration, or GSA, which has climbed higher up on his blacklist. Chapman's latest allegation against the GSA is that it is anti-small-business--and fraudulent. Chapman says he is in the midst of collecting comments from disgruntled small businesses. Does he seriously think he can dictate what any federal agency takes seriously? Absolutely.

Why is a state CIO included on this list of influencers? Matt Miszewski, the CIO of Wisconsin, also heads up the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO), which demands that the federal government work better with state and local agencies. And that makes him a force on the Hill.

Miszewski is the perfect individual to encourage cooperation between different segments of government. As CIO, he implemented an "extended enterprise" approach to IT management, partnering local governments directly with the state for major IT projects. Unfortunately, there continues to be a disconnect where state government meets federal, despite a growing need for integration across those segments. At least, that's what Miszewski and members of NASCIO argue. And until that changes, the biggest challenge facing government as a whole will continue to be keeping pace with an ever-changing environment instead of playing catch-up.

That said, don't think Miszewski is challenging only the feds. He also dares industry to step things up a bit as the government customer ups the ante in terms of skills and performance.

The trick to making any single agenda a reality is having a voice at the helm screaming a little louder than anyone else. As president of the Professional Services Council (PSC), Stan Soloway is that voice. The national trade association speaks for the professional- and technical-services industry, with procurement and outsourcing issues at the top of its list. That's due largely to Soloway, who assumed the presidency in January 2001 after driving acquisition reform as the deputy undersecretary of defense and director of Secretary of Defense William Cohen's Defense Reform Initiative.

One topic Soloway consistently speaks about publicly and lobbies fervently for on the Hill is fairness in public-private contract competition. He demands that industry receive a fair shake, and that the federal government follow through on promises to level the playing field. He'll be the first to say the market has a ways to go before that happens, but progress is being made.

PSC itself boasts direct access to government decision-makers, pointing to its routine testimonies to Congress--often from Soloway himself. But really, nothing proves influence more than recognition from the market itself, and Soloway has earned that. First, he was awarded the Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service. Then he received the Secretary of Defense Medal for Exceptionally Distinguished Public Service, the most prestigious civilian award of its kind.

Soloway has said the process of procurement can work if the right leaders are "willing to step up to the plate and say, 'Here are the limitations, and I can't live with them.'"

Solution providers face a lot of challenges when it comes to selling IT to the federal government. That makes an organization such as the Coalition for Government Procurement, and a representative such as executive vice president Larry Allen, essential.

To say issues confronted by the Coalition and voiced by Allen are carefully tracked by government-procurement officials would not be an exaggeration. His appointment by Gov. Jim Gilmore to the Virginia Procurement Assessment Task Force provides ample testimony. And so does the heady list of decision-makers that frequent the Coalition's many events in the Beltway, from Congressman Tom Davis to tarnished former procurement chief David Safavian. When at the podium, those people often thank Allen for keeping industry in the loop and forcing government to improve the system.

In that sense, Allen maintains an interesting position as liaison between industry and government officials that influence how agencies buy. Just as he educates contractors on the tricks of the procurement trade, he testifies before Congress on the failures of the process. And they listen.

Allen took a lead in helping to grow the GSA Schedule program and fix it when it needed to be repaired. He listened to what contractors expected from the reorganization, and he communicated those demands to the agency. While the GSA may not give Allen himself credit for improving the system, people in the industry will say they have him and the coalition to thank.

According to public-sector research firm Input, federal-telecommunications spending is expected to increase from $16 billion in 2005 to almost $21.4 billion in 2010, due largely to a revving up of e-government initiatives and the Presidential Management Agenda objectives. That kind of growth makes policies relating to standards and regulations all the more important. Enter Matthew Flanigan, president of the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA).

Flanigan consistently works to educate the public-sector market about significant issues relating to the telecom solutions agencies seek, as well as trends in the global telecom market as a whole. To underscore Flanigan's value, the Federal Communications Commission asked Flanigan to sit on the Network Reliability and Interoperability Council, which offers industry perspective on measures taken to enhance network reliability.

Priorities for Flanigan and the TIA include a policy framework that encourages the convergence of voice, data and video; increased deployment of broadband communications technologies; effective spectrum management; and advanced networks and services to enhance public safety and homeland security.

Nothing influences government more than a successful track record. Mega-integrator Lockheed Martin certainly has one of those--and in most every area of the defense department.

But Robert Stevens, chairman, president and CEO of Lockheed Martin, does more to influence federal spending than he does to head the integration powerhouse. He also holds the ear of the most powerful man in the free world: President George W. Bush. Stevens served on Bush's Commission to Examine the Future of the United States Aerospace Industry, and was a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and Board, as well as the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation.

How does Stevens earn such respect? His credo: We need to promote government and industry leaders that understand the importance of cooperation in improving processes. He has been known to say that it's not about the technology. Instead, it's about efficient collaboration, the exchange of information and ideas. In fact, Stevens calls information-sharing the "Holy Grail of the 21st century." He also says that the biggest obstacle to making that a reality is a combination of faulty and inefficient legislation. If laws prove inadequate, Stevens says, change them; if they express the proper intent, follow them to the letter.

Mystery Man: Procurement Policy Chief

President Bush and the OMB must find a permanent replacement who is strong enough to stomach the legacy left by David Safavian. The former administrator of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy was arrested in September 2005 after the FBI accused him of lying to investigators and obstructing a criminal investigation into the dealings of a Washington lobbyist. Associate administrator Robert Burton, who was Safavian's deputy, has taken over his role temporarily.

The scandal has left a thick black cloud over the federal contracting and the administration as a whole. Whoever fills the position permanently will be watched closely, especially by the White House, and by the contracting community, which wants a true advocate on the Hill.

Getting the ear of the folks on Capitol Hill isn't always easy, but a handful of voices rise above most. Whether knocking down doors or driving change from within, these influencers speak for the channel, helping to shake dollars from the federal money tree.