Federal Drive with Tom Temin

There is new leadership at the organization that represents managers and other non-union employees at the Internal Revenue Service. Kelly Reyes was named the Professional Managers Association's (PMA) new executive director last week. She replaces Chad Hooper, who left the organization this past summer. Reyes previously served as PMA's national vice president. For a look at the latest with the PMA, Federal News Network Deputy Editor Jared Serbu talked with Kelly Reyes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) has proposed several revisions to rules concerning its duties under the Privacy Act, including duties assigned to the office of the solicitor. For more on what is going on and what you need to know, Federal Drive Host Tom Temin talked with Thomas Tso, FLRA's Solicitor. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today's episode of the Federal Drive with Tom Temin: The Federal Labor Relations Authority proposes new privacy rules. New leadership at the Professional Managers Association. The Army is confident it's finally solving the challenge of moving to a modern contract writing system. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is attempting to make cybersecurity a high-level issue for companies by only allowing top executives to sign off on a new secure software attestation form that will be used across the federal government. CISA released the second draft of the “secure software development attestation form” this week after releasing an initial version of the form in April. The form is a key component in a government-wide push to ensure agencies use securely developed software. The attestation's form's requirements are based on the National Institute of Standards and Technology's Secure Software Development Framework (SSDF). The latest version of the form is now open for comment to CISA and the White House Office of Management and Budget through Dec. 18. Once the form is finalized, OMB will require agencies to start using the form within three months for all “critical software” and six months for most other third-party software. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For the agency most visibly on the front lines of security, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) in some ways is the face of the federal government. More than its technology, its people make it tick. As millions of Americans prepare to fly this holiday season, Federal Drive Host Tom Temin checked in with TSA's deputy administrator, Holly Canevari. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The latest continuing resolution Congress passed last week avoided a government shutdown. But even if lawmakers achieve that feat again next year, on the two different dates when the CR expires, there are a lot of other ways the rest of fiscal 2024 could be messy for federal agencies and their vendors. To look into it further, Federal News Network Deputy Director Jared Serbu talked with Larry Allen, President of Allen Federal Business Partners. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You most likely have seen it over the past couple of years. Your old friend from high school sharing that link that shows a new secret way to prevent COVID-19 that ended up being an ad for modern day snake oil. Yes health misinformation exploded over the course of the pandemic, overwhelming governments, public health authorities, and social media platforms looking to combat it. A new study looked into how well health misinformation is researched by these institutions and the methods they used to fight it. One of the study's authors is Stefanie Friedhoff, professor of the practice at Brown University's School of Public Health. She told Federal News Network's Eric White what they found. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today's episode of the Federal Drive with Tom Temin: TSA's chief of staff puts the emphasis less on chief and more on staff. What can be done in the public-health sector to combat misinformation? Why there's not a huge cause for optimism for the rest of the federal budget year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Congress' habit of kicking the can down the road with more continuing resolutions instead of full appropriations bills could have major repercussions for the Defense Department and other agencies, the Pentagon's top financial official said this week. Mike McCord, DoD's chief financial officer, said it is promising that the House of Representatives passed a continuing resolution (CR) this week, but Congress needs to fully fund the government. Since he spoke on Wednesday afternoon, the Senate has passed the CR and it now heads to President Joe Biden's desk, which will mean the potential government shutdown that would have occurred if Congress did not pass something by Nov. 17, will likely be averted. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Most federal employees are inching toward what will likely be a 5.2% pay raise in 2024. But even that big of a boost won't be enough to offset the growing wage gap between the federal and private sectors of the nationwide workforce, according to the Federal Salary Council. Over the last year, federal employees earned on average 27.54% less in wages than their private sector counterparts. The Federal Salary Council, composed of federal and labor leaders, reported the updated number in a public meeting Tuesday. It's more than a 3% increase in the pay disparity since the council's previous report of a 24.09% wage gap during 2022. The percentage-based pay gap has remained in the low- and mid-twenties for several years, and has stayed consistently above 20% since March 2007, the Federal Salary Council working group noted in its latest report. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The government is open on this short holiday week – and it will stay that way through at least the first couple months of the new year. That is thanks to a continuing resoultion Congress passed and the president signed late last week. But the way Congress went about it is going to make things complicated – and maybe harder to pass full appropriations bills for 2024. For more on this, Federal News Network Deputy Editor talked with Mitchell Miller, WTOP Capitol Hill correspondent. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

To be a good leader, you've got to know your people. But what about knowing yourself? Emotional intelligence is more important than ever in connecting with a diverse and changing workforce. So should it be considered when picking the leaders of tomorrow? That's the stance of Bob Tobias, retired professor from American University's Key Executive Leadership program. He tells Federal News Network's Eric White, just how vital emotional intelligence is for succeeding as a leader. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Government Accountability Office gets all the attention. But the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE), also has lists of management and financial priorities for federal agenices. Federal Drive Host Tom Temin discussed the latest list with the chair of CIGIE, the Interior Department's Mark Lee Greenblatt. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today's episode of the Federal Drive with Tom Temin: What your agency's inspector general says you need to get after. Why self-awareness can be an important characteristic for today's leaders. Future budget resolution made tougher by present "laddered CR." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Department of Veterans Affairs says its new Electronic Health Record (EHR) hasn't seen a total outage in more than six months. But the Oracle-Cerner EHR still isn't meeting a standard in its contract with VA for the system to run incident-free at least 95% of the time. As of Nov. 8, the Oracle-Cerner EHR has gone 185 consecutive days without a total outage within the VA, and has seen 100% system availability in 10 of the last 12 months. But Kurt DelBene, VA's assistant secretary for Information and Technology and its chief information officer, told members of the House VA Committee that the EHR still doesn't meet a standard for incident-free time outlined in its contract with the vendor. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) wants everybody to be as prepared for natural disasters as they can be. But FEMA's placing a new emphasis on older adults. The agency said older Americans are more susceptible to the consequences of disasters. A new disaster preparedness guide tries to help local emergency managers and other stakeholders deal with that reality. For more, Federal News Network Deputy Editor Jared Serbu talked with Sherman Gillums, the Director of FEMA's Office of Disability Integration and Coordination. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

DoD personnel officials have been sifting through results of a recently concluded challenge. Staff in the office of the under secretary of Defense for personnel and readiness, sought ideas from uniformed and civilian employees on how to improve what they call "talent management." That would be new and better ways to recruit, retain, and promote people. For what they came up with, Federal Drive Host Tom Temin spoke to force development HR specialist Beth Stewart and to special adviser to the under secretary, Jeannette Haynie. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today's episode of the Federal Drive with Tom Temin: DoD adds up the results from a talent management experiment. Preparing for natural disasters when you're old. Why expanding risk management to a broad audience is becoming more important for agencies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As if pandemic, threats of nuclear war, and a lack of Tesla charging stations aren't enough to worry about, there is always the possibility that an asteroid could hit the earth and wipe-out all of us. A team at NASA discovered a way to alter the path of an asteroid, should one come too close and they garnered the distinction of being finalists in this year's Service to America Medals program, also known as the Sammies. For the details, Federal Drive Host Tom Temin talked with two members of NASA's Planetary Missions Program Office: Program Manager Brian Key and Mission Manager Scott Bellamy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After rounds of FOIA requests and even litigation, the Project On Government Oversight (POGO) received a copy of the A-10C and F-35A close air support fly-off test report. The test was to compare how both aircraft stack up in providing all-important close air support to ground troops. After analyzing the heavily redacted document, POGO analysts found that despite what the Air Force had been saying, it appears the F-35 may not be well-suited for providing that support. For more, Federal Drive Executive Producer Eric White spoke with Dan Grazier, Senior Defense Policy Fellow at POGO. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS), is one of the main tools the agency relies on for environmental regulations, containing information on human health effects that may result from exposure to various chemicals in the environment. However, a new report from the EPA's inspector general, said the agency needs to do a better job of who has access to it, or it could be tampered with. For more on the report, Federal Drive Executive Producer Eric White talked with Jeremy Sigel, the IG office's Supervisory Audit Manager in the Information Resources Management Directorate. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode of the Federal Drive with Tom Temin: One of the EPA's most sacred databases could be at risk. Air Force finally reveals a little bit about how the F-35 stacks up in providing close air support. This NASA team's work means the whole world can sleep a little better. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

White House officials believe they have built broad consensus across agencies on proposed legislation that would reform how the government recruits and retains cyber talent. The forthcoming legislative proposal attempts to tackle what officials think is one of the biggest barriers to cyber recruiting inside the federal government: the patchwork of disparate workforce authorities across agencies. The Office of Personnel Management is close to delivering the proposal to Congress. Officials say it combines the best elements and lessons learned from current specialized authorities, notably the Defense Department's Cyber Excepted Service and the Department of Homeland Security's Cyber Talent Management System. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If Congress ever passes the 2024 Defense authorization bill, keep your eye on Section 804. It's now in the Senate version, and it is aimed at granting the Defense Department the rights to increasing amounts contractors' data more than it appears DoD needs for maintenance and operation of what it buys. Section 804 seems innocuous at first glance.To discuss beyond-the-glance, Federal Drive Host Tom Temin spoke with Haynes-Boone procurement attorney Zach Prince. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Another shutdown countdown is upon us. If you're thinking, "didn't we just go through one?" You're right. All this uncertainty is taking a toll on agency operations and the folks that run the places. To get an idea of how these constant battles could effect things going forward, Federal Drive Executive Producer Eric White spoke with Max Stier, President and CEO of the Partnership for Public Service. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A new report from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) tested the durability of a new kind of way for people to vote. Electronic poll books, or e-poll books, look to replace paper records and allow access to digital voter registration records. As you can imagine though, with convenience comes the opportunity for that information to fall into the wrong hands. So have should e-poll books be secured? To dive into the topic, Federal Drive Executive Producer Eric White talked with Christy McCormick Chairwoman of the EAC. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode of the Federal Drive with Tom Temin: Federal Guidance for how to standardize elections. Shutdowns add to mistrust in Congress, and federal agencies it seems. A new source of tension emerges between contractors and the Defense Department. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Despite budget uncertainty from a lack of permanent funding and a potential government shutdown by Nov. 17, on top of the normally slow budget approval process, the Air Force is trying to be nimble and flexible where possible, said Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall. Kendall said the budget uncertainty and potential shutdown, brings Air and Space Forces' programs “to a screeching halt.” “There are about a dozen or more new starts – things that we need Congressional authorization to start,” Kendall said at a CNAS event on Monday. “So not having an authorization bill yet and not having an appropriations bill means we have to wait until those things are passed to begin.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Postal Service, citing higher costs beyond its control, is falling behind on plans to reach long-term financial stability. USPS on Tuesday reported a $6.5 billion net loss for fiscal 2023. Under its 10-year USPS Delivering for America (DFA) plan, the agency expected it could “break even,” and start to dig out from years of billion-dollar net losses by this point. Those financial challenges are expected to continue for the rest of this fiscal year. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said USPS “will not reach break-even results in 2024.” USPS estimates it will end FY 2024 with a $6.3 billion net loss. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It will be this new congressional leadership's first test to try and avoid a government shutdown. As usual, the ones who will be doing most of the watching will be federal contractors. There is a new initiative from the White House though, that will give them plenty to keep busy while the waiting game ensues. To get a pulse check on the contracting industry, Federal Drive Executive Producer Eric White talked with David Berteau, President and CEO of the Professional Services Council. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Anyone working in the last few years has likely encountered the DEI movement: diversity, equity and inclusion. The Biden administration expanded that by adding an "A" for accessibility. For more on this, Federal Drive Host Tom Temin talked with Janice Underwood, who led DEI in the Commonwealth of Virginia, before becoming the top DEIA director at the Office of Personnel Management. Now she's a new fellow at the National Academy of Public Administration. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In July 1973, a fire damaged or destroyed up to 18 million Army and Air Force official military personnel files at the National Archives and Records Administration's National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis. These records are important for veterans who are looking to make claims with the Veterans Affairs Department. So how did the government do in helping those whose records were lost or damaged in the fire? The VA's Office of Inspector General looked to answer that question with a recent audit. To learn what it found, Federal Drive Executive Producer Eric White talked with Brent Arronte, Deputy Assistant Inspector General for Audits and Evaluations with the VA OIG. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today's episode of the Federal Drive with Tom Temin: What does the Veterans Affairs Department do when disaster strikes one of its record-storage facilities? The administration's DEI leader brings experience from work at the state level. Keeping fingers crossed about a potential government shutdown, contractors have new White House initiative scrutinize. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In November, the nation reflects upon the service and sacrifice of veterans and military families. A few days ago, we celebrated Veteran's Day and think of the more than 18 million living veterans in the U.S. and those who served before them. November is also National Military Families Month; this can be a time to reflect on the sacrifices they and service members make. Today, there are more than two million service members and 2.6 million family members. Sacrifice can come in many forms, and while military families sacrifice on a day-to-day, they can struggle more during a government shutdown. With a potential shutdown just days away if Congress does not pass funding by Nov. 17, military families could experience more financial strain and services they rely on could stop. A September 2023 survey by Blue Star Families found that 84% of currently-serving respondents said they would be greatly or somewhat impacted by a government shutdown. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It sure came fast. Just a workweek remaining until the continuing resolution expires. The fever is building on Capitol Hill to do something to avoid a government shutdown. For the latest, Federal Drive Host Tom Temin spoke to Bloomberg Government Deputy News Director Loren Duggan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Among the recent inductees to the National Academy of Public Administration, is a former state budget official. For how the federal government looks from a state point of view, Federal Drive Host Tom Temin spoke with that official, Shelby Kerns, who is now the Executive Director of the National Association of State Budget Officers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Small Business Administration and the Defense Department recently launched an effort to boost private capital investment in critical technologies. The program will provide federal guarantees to investment in companies the Defense Department considers critical. To discuss, Federal Drive Host Tom Temin talked with the SBA's Associate Administrator for the Office of Investment and Innovation, Bailey DeVries. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today's episode of the Federal Drive with Tom Temin: How DoD and SBA encourage investment in critical technologies. What federal largess looks like from the perspective of a state-level budget official. A government shutdown is (or is not) a week away. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Department of Homeland Security is pledging to promote greater transparency and data-driven analysis through the Office of Homeland Security Statistics as part of a bid to centralize statistical activities across all its major missions. The new organization announced on Thursday will replace and expand on DHS's Office of Immigration Statistics. While immigration-related data will continue to be a major focus of OHSS, the office will also publish reports on areas ranging from law enforcement use-of-force incidents to cyber attacks on federal networks. “In establishing this new office, we'll begin releasing data more quickly, with greater granularity and covering a broader scope of DHS activities,” Marc Rosenblum, executive director of OHSS said, during an inauguration event at DHS headquarters on Thursday. “Simply growing the reporting and data governance that accompanies that will be a big undertaking.” Robert Silvers, under secretary of homeland security for strategy, policy and plans, said the creation of OHSS is part of “maturing” DHS and going from “ad hoc, to institutionalized and systematic” in its processes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices