Tom Davis
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- For the comedian of the same name, see Tom Davis (comedian)
Thomas M. Davis (born January 5, 1949, Minot, North Dakota), Congressman, has been a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives since 1995, representing the Eleventh Congressional District of Virginia (map (http://nationalatlas.gov/printable/images/preview/congdist/va11_109.gif)) in Northern Virginia.
Background and Congressional Activities
Davis moved to Fairfax County at an early age. He was a U.S. Senate Page and graduated as president of his class. He is a graduate of Amherst College, in Political Science, and the University of Virginia, in law. He attended Officer Candidate School of the U.S. Army, served on active duty, and spent eight years with the Virginia National Guard and the U.S. Army Reserve.
Career themes:
- Strong advocate of federal employees and contractors, and as an expert in federal procurement policy.
- Headed the Government Reform Committee’s Subcommittee on the District of Columbia.
- D.C. Financial Control Board Act
- Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995
- Federal Acquisition Reform Act
- Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995
- Founder and co-chair of the Information Technology Working Group
- Sponsored Y2K Act
Awards
- 1999 Electronic Industry Alliance’s Congressional Technology Policy Award
- 2000, inducted into the American Electronics Association’s High Tech Hall of Fame
- True Blue Reformer, Public Citizen
- Deficit Hawk Award and highest score in Virginia from the Concord Coalition
- Americans for Tax Reform, the National Federation of Independent Businesses
- Information Technology Association of America, the Information Technology Industry Council, US Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Chief Information Officers, the IT Industry Council, and the Coalition for Government Procurement
Political positions
- Chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee from 1998 to 2002.
Davis stepped down as chair of the D.C. subcommittee at the end of 2000 after a string of legislative wins. Tom backed 1997 legislation granting control of nine city agencies to the Control Board, and in the process secured the closing of Lorton Prison by the end of 2001. In February 1999, Tom sponsored a bill restoring full management powers to the District government; that bill became the first legislation signed into law that year. Perhaps his biggest accomplishment as committee chair came with passage of the D.C. College Access Act, which, for the first time ever, will allow high school graduates in the District to attend public colleges in Maryland and Virginia at in-state rates. In the 107th Congress, Tom continued to serve on the D.C. Subcommittee.
Davis supported financing of the new Woodrow Wilson Bridge in 2000.
In January 2001, Davis was named chairman of the newly formed Government Reform Subcommittee on Technology and Procurement Policy. He also reclaimed his seat on the Energy and Commerce Committee, with a spot on the Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet. Both posts are critical to Northern Virginia’s high tech community. In just two years, Tom successfully passed several important bills through Congress, including the Digital Tech Corps Act, the E-Gov Act of 2002, the Federal Information Security Act, and the Critical Infrastructure Information Act. And, in keeping with his belief that the top source of waste in government can be found in spending on goods and services, Tom’s vigilant oversight of large dollar federal contracts resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars saved for the taxpayers.
Davis was elected to chair the House Government Reform Committee for the 108th Congress.
Supported
- President’s Management Agenda,
- Services Acquisition Reform Act
- Creation of a National Security Personnel System for Department of Defense civilian employees
- D.C. School Choice Program
- Postal pension reform legislation
- 2004, co-author of 9-11 Implementations Act
Hearings:
- Emergency preparedness in the Capital Region and threats to Government information networks presented by peer-to-peer file sharing programs
- Approval of a report on the Committee’s years-long investigation of the FBI’s use of informants
- Review of consumer safeguards on Internet pharmacy websites
- Hearings on contract mismanagement at the Department of Energy and other departments and agencies
- Inquiries into the training and testing of airline passenger screeners and implementation of the historic US-VISIT program.
In January 2005, Davis was reappointed to serve as chair of the House Government Reform Committee.
In February 2005, Tom was appointed to serve on the Homeland Security Committee. He serves on the Subcommittee on Economic Security, Infrastructure Protection, and Cybersecurity and the Subcommittee on Management, Integration, and Oversight.
Links
- Congressman Tom Davis (http://tomdavis.house.gov/)
- Congressonal Biography (http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=D000136)
| Preceded by: Leslie L. Byrne | U.S. Representative for Virginia's 11th Congressional District 1995—present | Succeeded by: Incumbent |