OMB Will Testify at Issa Hearing

The Hill reports:

The Obama administration will send an official to testify at a House Oversight Committee hearing after Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) threatened to issue a subpoena.

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has designated Daniel Gordon, the administrator for federal procurement policy, to testify at a May 12 hearing on a draft executive order that would require federal contractors to disclose their political contributions.

Issa threatened to issue a subpoena for testimony on Monday after Budget Director Jack Lew refused to participate in the hearing.

“OMB made the correct decision in reconsidering its previous refusal to attend Thursday’s hearing. I look forward to Administrator Gordon’s testimony,” Issa said.

Lew on Friday declined to participate in the hearing on the order, citing the fact that the executive order is still being drafted and has not been issued. He said that deputy director Jeff Zients would not participate either.

“If OMB continues to demonstrate an unwillingness to cooperate fully with the committee’s oversight function, we will be required to use the compulsory process,” Issa and Small Business subcommittee Chairman Sam Graves (R-Mo.) wrote Lew in a May 9 letter.

Issa and Graves argue that the executive order will create a litmus test for contractors that could result in contracts being denied to GOP supporters.