Lawmakers question GSA nominee over Sun Microsystems deal

By Gautham Nagesh gnagesh@govexec.com July 25, 2008 As expected, lawmakers Friday grilled the nominee for the top job at the General Services Administration over his alleged role in contract negotiations with Sun Microsystems that contributed to the ousting of former administrator Lurita Doan. Senators asked Jim Williams whether he played any role in controversial negotiations over the renewal of a GSA information technology contract with Sun. Doan had been accused of pushing the agency to renew the contract, against the judgment of career employees concerned that the company had overcharged the government. "I did not participate in the negotiations at all," Williams told Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., during the hearing. When he joined GSA in 2006, Williams... [read full story]