President Obama Nominates Tangherlini to be Administrator of GSA

WASHINGTON— Today, Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Tom Carper (D-Del.) welcomed President Obama’s decision to nominate Dan Tangherlini to be Administrator of the General Services Administration (GSA). Chairman Carper has called on the Obama Administration to quickly work to nominate qualified individuals to key management level positions, including the GSA Administrator, that have long been vacant. Prior to being nominated, Mr. Tangherlini had been appointed by the President as the Acting Administrator the GSA, a position he has held since April 2012.

“I have long been concerned about the effect that numerous longstanding vacancies in senior positions throughout government have had on the efficiency and effectiveness of our federal government,” said Chairman Carper. “This problem has become so prevalent that I often refer to it as Executive Branch ‘Swiss Cheese.’ One agency that has suffered from this condition is the General Services Administration. The General Service Administration’s mission is to help other agencies purchase goods and services, manage property, and to promote good business practices throughout government.   I often talk about the need for leaders to lead by example, and so the General Services Administration itself should be a model of efficiency as it works to carry out its mission.  Unfortunately that has not always been the case, and I think part of the problem stems from the lack of a permanent leader.   Today President Obama took action to address this need, and nominated Dan Tangherlini to the top spot at the agency. Mr. Tangherlini has, for over a year, worked as the Acting Administrator and has already led an impressive turn-around of the agency.  Confirming Mr. Tangherlini will provide badly needed stability for this key agency, which has had eight different leaders since late 2005 with all but two of them serving in an acting capacity.  I look forward to working with my colleagues in the Senate to move this nomination quickly so Mr. Tangherlini can get to work and help his team at the General Service Administration make our federal government perform better and at less cost to the taxpayer.”

Dan Tangherlini is currently the Acting Administrator of the General Services Administration, a role he has held since April 2012.  He was designated by the President to this position from the U.S. Department of the Treasury, where he has been the Chief Financial Officer since 2009 and also served as the Assistant Secretary for Management from 2009 to 2012.  Prior to that, Mr. Tangherlini served as the District of Columbia City Administrator and Deputy Mayor from 2006 to 2009.  In 2006, he served as the Interim General Manager of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.  From 2000 to 2006, he served as Director of the District of Columbia Department of Transportation and from 1998 to 2000 as Chief Financial Officer of the Metropolitan Police Department.  Mr. Tangherlini served in the Office of Policy at the U.S. Department of Transportation from 1997 to 1998 and at the Office of Management and Budget from 1991 to 1997.  Mr. Tangherlini received a B.A. and an M.P.P from the University of Chicago, and an M.B.A. from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.