Lurita Doan

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Witnesses have told congressional investigators that the chief of the General Services Administration and a deputy in Karl Rove's political affairs office at the White House joined in a video conference earlier this year with top GSA political appointees, who discussed ways to help Republican candidates. With GSA Administrator Lurita Alexis Doan and up to 40 regional administrators on hand, J. Scott Jennings, the White House's deputy director of political affairs, gave a PowerPoint presentation on Jan. 26 [2007] of polling data about the 2006 elections. Investigators state that the Hatch Act may have been violated when the question "How can we help our candidates?" was allegedly asked by Lurita Doan, according to a few unidentified witnesses at the meeting. The Hatch Act states that federal resources may not be used for partisan politics. The Office of Special Counsel investigated Hatch Act questions at GSA.

Doan appeared in front of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on June 13, 2007, whereupon Chairman Waxman suggested she resign. [27] In a House Oversight Committee staff report, Congressman Tom Davis cited evidence that the General Counsel Alan Swendiman only "sent a memo to Chief of Staff John Phelps stating that Diversity Best Practices should be notified in writing of the termination of the "service order," and that Swendiman and Doan never spoke on this matter. [26]

Doan also faced accusations of interfering with the extension of a contract involving Sun Microsystems. Sun Microsystems announced the end of its long-standing contract with the federal government in mid-September 2007. However, the week before Sun announced its decision, Doan alerted Congress to factors that may provide disincentives for companies to do work with the federal government. Doan expressed her concerns in a September 7, 2007, letter to Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) about the credibility of the GSA Inspector General's office and how that credibility gap can adversely affect relations with vendors, stating:

Over the past several months, I have heard complaints questioning the ability of the GSA's IG to conduct independent reviews in an unbiased manner. Contributing to this perception has been a troubling inability within the office of the IG to safeguard testimony and hold in strict confidence information provided. Companies involved in audits, as well as whistleblowers across the agency, must have the confidence that the IG will safeguard information provided. Sadly, there have been several instances where confidential information provided to the GSA IG was immediately leaked to media outlets, and I am concerned that these occurrences have fostered the impression that the IG's credibility is compromised. [28]

Sun announced its decision to stop selling directly through the GSA.

On April 29, 2008, facing a recommendation by the United States Office of Special Counsel that Doan be "disciplined to the fullest extent" for "the most pernicious of political activity" prohibited by the Hatch Act [15] and an ongoing congressional investigation, [29] Doan submitted her resignation in accordance with a request from the White House. [14] Doan stated that "It has been a great privilege to serve our nation and a great President." [10]

References

  1. 1 2 "Lurita Alexis Doan – Administrator".[ dead link ]
  2. "Lurita Alexis Doan"
  3. "Lurita Alexis Doan", NNDB
  4. "Southern Discomfort", Boston Globe, 12 December 2004 (subscription required)via Boston.com
  5. "e-Women Network International Conference and Business Expo 2005 Conference Speakers".
  6. "Doan Heads GSA".
  7. "A High-Tech Honcho Who Says No to Hypergrowth For Lurita Doan, life and business got a lot better after she constrained her company's expansion". Business Week . 2000. Archived from the original on June 19, 2000.
  8. George Gendron (February 2002). "FYI: The Million-Dollar Post-it Note". Inc.com.
  9. 1 2 3 Scott Higham; Robert O'Harrow Jr. (January 19, 2007). "GSA Chief Scrutinized For Deal With Friend". The Washington Post . p. A01.
  10. 1 2 Harrow, Robert (2008-05-01). "Doan Ends Her Stormy Tenure as GSA Chief". The Washington Post . Retrieved 2008-05-01.
  11. "Lurita Doan Assumes Role as GSA Administrator". May 31, 2006.[ dead link ]
  12. "Senate confirms FEMA, GSA chiefs". May 26, 2006.
  13. "Lurita Doan Takes Oath of Office". Archived from the original on 2006-07-08.
  14. 1 2 Stout, David (2008-04-30). "Federal Contracting Chief Is Forced Out". The New York Times . Retrieved 2008-04-30.
  15. 1 2 "Report: Contracting head illegally political". USA Today . June 12, 2007. Retrieved May 11, 2010.
  16. Cable, Josh (2008-05-01). "White House Mum on Doan Resignation". GovPro.com . Retrieved 2008-08-11.
  17. Lurita Doan – Leadership Matters http://www.federalnewsradio.com/?nid=103&sid=1552767
  18. Vogel, Kenneth P. (2009-06-04). "Sonia Sotomayor found friends in elite group". Politico . Retrieved 2009-06-05.
  19. "Remarks by the Vice President at the Celebrating Women in Business Breakfast, The Washington Hilton Hotel, Washington, D.C., September 18, 2003".
  20. "President Speaks with Women Small Business Owners on the Economy, U.S. Department of Commerce, Washington, D.C., January 9, 2004".
  21. "2004 Republican National Convention".
  22. Daniel Pulliam (March 6, 2007). "House panel raises new allegations against GSA chief". GovExec.
  23. Scott Higham; Robert O'Harrow Jr. (March 26, 2007). "GSA Chief Is Accused of Playing Politics: Doan Denies 'Improper' Use of Agency for GOP". The Washington Post . p. A01.
  24. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-01-31. Retrieved 2008-02-04.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  25. Tom Davis, Ranking Member (March 28, 2007). "Allegations of Misconduct at the General Services Administration: A Closer Look" (PDF). Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
  26. 1 2 Scott Higham and Robert O'Harrow Jr. (March 26, 2007). "GSA Chief Is Accused of Playing Politics". The Washington Post .
  27. "Under Waxman's Surveillance". The Washington Post . October 24, 2007. Retrieved May 11, 2010.
  28. Lurita Doan (September 7, 2007). "Response from Administrator Doan to Senator Grassley". General Services Administrator.[ dead link ]
  29. Weisman, Jonathan (October 25, 2007). "White House Feels Waxman's Oversight Gaze". The Washington Post . Retrieved May 11, 2010.
Lurita Doan
Lurita Doan.jpg
18th Administrator of the
U.S. General Services Administration
In office
May 31, 2006 April 29, 2008
Political offices
Preceded by
David Bibb
Acting
Administrator of General Services
Served under: George W. Bush

2006–2008
Succeeded by
David Bibb
Acting