Federal Drive with Tom Temin

The Department of Housing and Urban Development will soon transfer employees from its downtown DC office into the National Science Foundation's headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia. HUD's move is expected to entirely displace close to 2000 NSF employees already working there. But so far, there's no plan on when the move will happen or where NSF will go next Here with more on this developing story is Federal News Network's Drew Friedman, See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Nearly two decades ago, the Department of Veterans Affairs came under scrutiny for a massive data breach. The incident involved a stolen laptop and the personal information of more than 26 million veterans. The breach served as a wake up call for the VA and for the rest of the federal government on the importance of information security. Federal News Network's Justin Doubleday wrote about the VA data breach for our 25th anniversary series, and he joins me now to discuss it. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Federal Insurance Open Season isn't until November, but today is a great day to take inventory of your insurance coverage and start planning ahead. Here with practical tips and considerations is the Director of Marketing and Fundraising for Consumer's Checkbook, Kevin Moss.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

As the government places more emphasis on making procurement faster and buying commercial products, a protest case making its way through the court system could have major implications on who can protest contract awards. Here with more on the details of the case and what it could mean for future contracts is Partner with Haynes Boone, Dan Ramish.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today on the Federal Drive with Terry Gerton It's national insurance awareness day--time to do your summer insurance review There's new legal discussion about who might have standing as an "interested party" in bid protestsSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Navy's top IT and personnel leaders are at odds about the future of the services, Human Resources modernization effort. At the center of the clash is a canceled contract that was helping the Navy to move sailors personnel and promotion records to the cloud, Federal News Network's Anastasia Obis is here with more details.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Office of Management and Budget is asking a simple question of agencies, how effective are your financial audits? In a new memo from OMB Director Russ Vought, the Trump administration is kicking off a new initiative to strengthen financial oversight and accountability for more on what OMB is trying to accomplish. Federal News Network executive editor Jason Miller joins me now with analysis of the new memo. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Lots of government reformers want to make government run more like a business. But there are important reasons for the differences, and important considerations when tackling the government efficiency conundrum. Here with some practical suggestions are Senior Director at AArete, Lynne Jenkins, and AArete managing director, Tyler Higgins.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Many federal employees with long time horizons to retirement automatically put their TSP contributions into an "L" fund. That will mature about the same time as they plan to retire. My next guest says this "set it and forget it" approach can actually cost you purchasing power. Here with more details is Certified Financial Planner Art Stein.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Local congressional offices have staff specifically to help constituents get the support they need from federal agencies. In the midst of a disaster that assistance can be vital. But a new report from POPVOX Foundation indicates that those local caseworkers face particular challenges. Here with more on their findings and recommendations is the Deputy Director of POPVOX, Anne Meeker.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today on the Federal Drive with Terry Gerton When disaster strikes, your local congressional office can help If your TSP is in an L fund, do not set it and forget it Some practical suggestions for those looking to make government more efficientSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Defense Department has a long way to go before it's ready to say what the successor to its joint war fighting cloud capability contract will be. But that doesn't mean officials don't at least have a wish list. One thing we're likely to see is more opportunities for more vendors, not just the four big hyper scale companies that have spots on today's JWCC contract. Rob Vietmeyer is DoD, chief software officer, and he talked with Federal News Network's Jared Serbu on our recent 2025 cloud exchange.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A government watchdog faces a nearly 50% cut to next year's budget under a proposal from House lawmakers. The legislative branch portion of the fiscal 2026 spending bill would both cut funding for the Government Accountability Office and limit GAO from investigating whether the Trump administration unlawfully withheld funding already approved by lawmakers Federal News Network's Jory Heckman joins me with more.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

By one estimate, there are now over 100,000 federal employees currently on paid administrative leave. Some took the deferred resignation option offered early in the Trump Administration, but about 50% were put on administrative leave involuntarily. Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility has filed with the Office of Special Counsel claiming that administrative leave status was imposed illegally. Here with more on their argument and its status is PEER's senior counsel, Peter Jenkins.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

To prevent fraud, the IRS needs to make sure that tax filers are who they say they are. a new ID-proofing approach now means that over 70% of filers can be verified digitally. But the GAO says IRS still needs to work on its privacy and program evaluation practices. Here with more details on the findings that can help many other federal agencies is Director of Strategic issues at GAO, Jay Mc TigueSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The National Contract Management Association is launching a new effort to improve federal acquisition efficiency. That has also been a central focus of many of the Trump Administration's early actions in procurement. Here today to discuss how this new group will work, and what makes it different from its many predecessors are Kraig Conrad, CEO of the National Contract Management Association, and the two leaders of the effort. Wes Bennett is Vice President of Contracts at Booze Allen Hamilton and will chair the working group. Soraya Correa is the President and CEO of National Industries for the Blind and will join Wes as the Vice Chair. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Coming up today on The Federal Drive with Terry Gerton A new working group wants to make federal procurement more efficient Digital identification verification is the wave of the future at IRS The outlook for federal workers involuntarily placed on administrative leaveSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The US Patent and Trademark Office has already invested heavily in artificial intelligence capabilities. Its employees have access to several tools to review documents and reduce the burden of administrative and clerical tasks on examiners through a new request for information, the USPTO wants to accelerate its use of AI tools with more on USPTO plans to bring these capabilities to its workforce. Federal News Networks' Executive Editor Jason Miller joins me now.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

As the US heads into an intense wildfire season, the White House is attempting to make some big changes to the government's response efforts. The Trump administration has outlined plans to consolidate wildfire management programs into a single agency. But a federal union says the consequences of moving too fast on these changes could be disastrous here. With more on the story, Federal News Network's Drew Friedman.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Several agencies have put their contractors on notice that all new contracts over a certain dollar threshhold, which in once case is only $100,000, will be subject to the review of the agency secretary. Here with her observations on what that means for contractors and agency performance is the President of the Professional Services Council, Stephanie Kostro.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Identifying places where government programs fall short is not hard, but finding practical solutions to those problems can be much more difficult. The IBM Center for the Business of Government is now seeking problem solvers. Here to talk about their new call for proposals is the Centers Executive Director, Dan Chenok.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Congress is in the midst of moving the reconciliation bill and taking up 2026 budget bills. But at least one Member of Congress is still paying attention to the Schedule Policy/Career proposal and hoping to mobilize his peers for action. Congressman Kweisi Mfume, representing Maryland's seventh district, joins me now.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today on the Federal Drive with Terry Gerton Will Congress take up legislation to address the President's Schedule Policy/Career rule? A new opportunity to solve government effectiveness problems What happens when the agency secretary starts reviewing grants and contractsSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Trump administration wants to change what it says are inflated numbers of high performing federal employees. A new memo encourages agencies not to give too many employees the highest ratings on their annual performance reviews. Agencies are also being told to discipline or remove anyone deemed a poor performer. Here with more details on the latest guidance is Federal News Network's Drew Friedman.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

National Archives and Records Administration would take a $60 million cut under the 2026 budget request. Nara is also laying off nearly 100 employees as part of a new round of reductions in force. Former archives officials say the agency has little capacity to absorb such cuts and for more federal news networks. Justin Doubleday spoke with the former Archivist of the United States, Colleen Shogan,See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

As the various Senate committees release their proposals for the reconciliation bill, the Senate parliamentarian is ruling out many of the more controversial elements. Here with more insight into what this might portend for the megabill's fate and other Congressional activity is deputy news director at Bloomberg Government, Loren Duggan.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

For some federal employees, working remotely was a reasonable accommodation that helped them make meaningful contributions in their jobs. The Trump Administration's blanket "return to the office" directive has upended those remote work arrangements and created uncertainty for those who depended on that flexibility. Here with insight on how the reasonable accommodation process should be working is Partner at Kalijarvi, Chuzi, Newman & Fitch, Aaron Szot.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Over the past two decades, the military services have transitioned away from their organic equipment maintenance capabilities to buying sustainment from the original equipment manufacturers. It seems that approach may be resulting in less readiness, not more. Secretary Hegseth has said he wants to bring repair capabilities back in-house, but is DoD ready for that? Here with more insight is the Director of the center for Defense Information at the Project on Government Oversight, Greg Williams. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today on the Federal Drive with Terry Gerton The Department of Defense wants to take back its right to repair What to do if remote work was your reasonable accommodationLots of procedural intrigue impacting the reconciliation megabillSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Details around the Army's Transformation Initiative remain scarce, but officials say they're ready to explain the plan to Congress. Federal News Network's Anastasia Obis joins me now with more details. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Federal agencies are setting a higher performance bar when delivering services to the public. The 21st Century integrated digital experience. Act of 2018 set a blueprint for more modern digital first customer experience in government. But agencies didn't start achieving those goals until the COVID 19 pandemic shuttered many agency offices, and now new legislation is looking to build on those goals as part of Federal News Network's 25th anniversary special report Federal News Network's Jory Heckman joins me with more. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

AI promises to take over the piles of paperwork that govern the federal acquisition process. But in a world that is built around compliance, many are hesitant to trust that AI can follow all of the rules. Joining me with ideas on how to bridge that trust gap is the Founder and CEO of Rohirrim, Steve Aberle.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

15 years ago, the U.S. military used the Rapid Equipping Force to quickly meet the needs of warfighting units in Afghanistan. Today, the Ukraine military is using a similar process to generate rapid innovation in tactics and equipment. Could the U.S. do it again if a conflict started on short notice? Joining me with insights on what it takes to organize for effectiveness is the co-founder and CEO of BMNT and former head of the REF, Pete Newell.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Military families and their quality of life are the backbone of our nation's military readiness. Blue Star Families, an advocate for military families, surveys that community annually to determine both how well they're doing and how likely they are to continue their service. Here with their latest data is Blue Star Families' Chief Impact Officer, Dr. Lindsay Knight.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today on the Federal Drive with Terry Gerton The latest data on how our military families are doing How to organize for effectiveness and not just efficiency What it will take to realize AI's promise to simplify and speed federal acquisitionSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Federal courts are hampering the Trump administration's plans to shrink the federal workforce and reshape agencies, but it would have a lot more authority to proceed with these plans under a Senate committee's proposal, changes under consideration by members of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee would allow the administration to move forward with reorganizations with minimal interference from Congress or the courts. Federal News Network's Jory Heckman has more and joins me now. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Trump administration is pumping the brakes on government wide software security requirements instead, President Donald Trump's new cybersecurity executive order calls for an industry consortium to study implementation of secure software development practices for more on these changes, Federal News Network's Justin Doubleday joins me.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It can take over 10 years to bring a new ground system to life, at a time when our adversaries' development cycle is 18 months or less. A new report from GAO suggest best practices the Army could apply now to dramatically shorten its development cycle for these critical weapons. Here with more on the recommendations in a new report from GAO is Director of the Contracting and National Security Acquisitions team, Mona Sehgal.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The latest edition of the Congressional Innovation Scorecard (Edition 2), grades every member of Congress on how strongly they champion American inventors, creators, and the innovation economy. It's created by the Council for Innovation Promotion, or C4IP. For the results, we welcome one of the contributors. David Kappos is a David Kappos is a partner at Cravath, Swaine, & Moore and Co-Chair of the firm's Intellectual Property practice. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Every presidential transition introduces uncertainty in investment markets. This time, the volatility generated by policy changes and DOGE has been even more dramatic. Here with insight into what those changes mean for the industries that work most closely with government is the managing director in the Defense and Government Group at Raymond James, Sam Maness.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today on the Federal Drive with Terry Gerton Important investment trends in the defense and government sector A gauge of how well members of congress are creating a good environment for innovation Applying best practices to speed Army fielding of new artillery and missile systemsSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Republican Senate committee leaders are still eyeing big changes for the civil service. New committee language that's been teed up for the GOP reconciliation bill would give all new federal employees a choice pay more into the government's Retirement System or lose your job protections. Here with more is Federal News Network's Drew Friedman.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.