The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee voted on Nov. 16 to approve two key Biden administration nominations to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM).
The committee approved on a vote of 9-2 the nomination of Robert Shriver to become deputy director of OPM – a position that has been vacant since January 2021.
Shriver currently serves as OPM’s associate director of employee services and has played a key role in developing telework and remote work policies during the COVID-19 pandemic.
During the Obama administration, Shriver held multiple roles at OPM. He initially served as deputy general counsel and then as assistant director for National Healthcare Operations. During his time at OPM, he was part of the White House team that implemented the Affordable Care Act.
On a separate vote of 9-2, the committee voted to approve the nomination of Richard Revesz to be administrator, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), at OMB.
OIRA is largely tasked with reviewing regulations from the executive branch, approving government information collections, establishing government-wide statistical practices, and coordinating Federal privacy policies.
Revesz has an extensive background in law, environment, and public health. He is a law professor at the New York University School of Law, and founded the Institute for Policy Integrity.
At a committee business meeting called to vote on the nominees, Chairman Gary Peters, D-Mich., said that both “positions have been vacant for too long.”
The committee’s approval of the nominations sends them to the full Senate for consideration.
