Vivek Kundra for Obama "CTO" position

It appears Vivek Kundra will be the new CTO but also the position might be moved to be under the House Science Committee.

The Obama administration plans to announce it has appointed Vivek Kundra, the District of Columbia's chief technology officer to take the top information technology post in the federal government, according to a source.

Kundra, who has deployed advanced applications to improve the performance of public services during his nearly two years as CTO for the District, will replace Karen Evans as administrator for e-government and information technology in the Office of Management and Budget. The position effectively serves as the federal government's chief information officer. The administration could announce Kundra's appointment as soon as Thursday.

Kundra could not be reached, and a spokesman for Washington Mayor Adrian Fenty declined to comment.

Kundra's name has been linked to a top IT job in the Obama administration for months, though most of the discussion has focused on the still-open chief technology officer position. During the campaign, Obama said the CTO would report directly to him, indicating the position would have authority. But sources say the position now looks like it may report to the head of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, a relatively obscure group in the White House.

Why is this news to an economics site? Because we possibly just dogged a bullet since Obama's other choices heavily offshore outsource and who wants the United States Government offshore outsourcing technology to India and China?

The House Science Committee might be more appropriate as well for they have deep expertise and oversea agencies like NASA and DARPA.

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