Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.) spoke out on many of the major information technology issues confronting the federal government during the past 12 years. He began speaking his mind as soon as he took office in 1996, but he found a bigger stage in 2003 when he was named chairman of the Government Reform Committee. The following sound bites reflect his approach to — and passion for — technology issues.
ON ACQUISITION REFORM: “Procurement is not perceived as important to many, many people. You’ve got to make it real for them. They are interested in the end result.” (February 1996)
ON THE NEED FOR E-GOVERNMENT: “When you think of government, what do you think about? You think of chads.” (March 2001)
ON COMPETITIVE SOURCING: “Outsourcing decisions should be driven by efficiencies, but right now they are driven by default because we don’t have the in-house capability to perform.” (February 2002)
ON THE E-GOVERNMENT ACT: “You can pass all the laws you want, but the culture doesn’t change in some of these agencies.” (January 2003)
ON CYBERSECURITY: “The vulnerabilities of our systems are significant, and the potential damage that can be done is a lot more than any plane flying into a building. That’s the reality.” (January 2005)
ON THE SERVICES ACQUISITION REFORM ACT: “My vision is a cadre of trained professional acquisition officers with the tools they need and relationships with customers.” (March 2003)
ON TELEWORK: “The innovations of the Information Age — laptop computers, broadband Internet connections, cell phones, BlackBerrys — continue to make location less relevant in the working world.” (June 2005)
