Govt. IT group calls for approval of Grimes as DOD CIO

Should the nomination of Raytheon exec John Grimes as Defense Dept. CIO be scuttled, it would be a "travesty," a government IT industry group said Friday. According to FCW.com, Dan Heinemeier, president of the Government Electronics and Information Technology Association, said, "He is exactly the guy at the stage in his life we want to attract. ... If we lose John Grimes, it is a travesty to this country. Government would be ill-served."

Grimes' nomination as DOD CIO hit the skids recently over his unwillingness to forego his Raytheon pension. It would be an apparent conflict of interest for a senior Defense official to be receiving pension payments from a major defense contractor. FCW reported earlier that House and Senate committees have not yet voted out his nomination because of the pension issue.

Heinemeier said he understands concerns about conflict of interest but that Congress should trust that people are coming  into government with the best intentions.