Podcasts about federal news network

New data from Democrats on the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee shine fresh light on just how rough its been for many small business contractors over the last 15 months. A new report from Senator Ed Markey, ranking member of the committee, found since January 2025 when President Donald Trump took office, agencies have reduced spending by 19% and thousands of small firms have left the federal market. For exclusive details on this new data and what it means for federal small business contractors, Federal News Network 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.

The General Services Administration, the landlord for much of the federal government, says none of the owned or leased buildings it has data on meet the minimum occupancy standard set by law last year. But GSA is reexamining the data it's collected so far. Among its concerns, the data doesn't differentiate office space from rooms where employees aren't working. Federal News Network's Jory Heckman has more. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The House Armed Services Committee is pushing back against President Donald Trump's executive order that removes collective bargaining rights for civilian workers in the defense department. Federal News Network's Anastasia Obis has more.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

More details are emerging about the practical implications of Schedule Policy/Career. New guidance from the Office of Personnel Management comes as agencies face a looming deadline to formally reclassify thousands of career federal employees … in effect, those reclassifications will strip workers of long-standing civil service protections. Here with the latest, 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.

Congress just passed fiscal 2026 appropriations for most of the Department of Homeland Security in May. But lawmakers are already moving forward with crafting a 2027 budget for DHS. The House Appropriations Committee's homeland security spending bill pushes back on some cuts proposed by the Trump administration. For more, 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.

More details are emerging about the practical implications of Schedule Policy/Career. New guidance from the Office of Personnel Management comes as agencies face a looming deadline to formally reclassify thousands of career federal employees … in effect, those reclassifications will strip workers of long-standing civil service protections. Here with the latest, 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.

As agencies look for ways to operate faster and more efficiently, The Army's medical logistics community is embracing telemaintenence. It's a bit like telemedicine, except for medical equipment. That's meant the most experienced medical logisticians can now lend their expertise from a distance, in ways that let equipment get fixed in hours instead of days. Wes Ladlee is the chief of Army Medical Logistics Command's maintenance support office. He talked about the improvements with Federal News Network's Jared Serbu.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Postal Service, on the verge of running out of cash early next year, is pricing out a wide range of possible reforms that, if passed by Congress, could address the agency's long-term financial problems. One of them would be eliminating its regulatory agency, which must approve USPS requests to raise stamp prices. USPS expects to run out of cash early next year, but is relying on some extraordinary measures to push back that financial cliff. Federal News Network's Jory Heckman has more. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The House Armed Services Committee adopted an expansive right-to-repair amendment Thursday over the objections of the committee's chairman and several Republicans, setting up another major fight with industry over the Pentagon's access to technical data and software. Federal News Network's Anastasia Obis has more.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Lieutenant General Paul Stanton is redefining the concept of team work at the Defense Information Systems Agency. The director of DISA says the interdependency of technology systems and the speed of artificial intelligence are driving this change. WIth more on what DISA's new approach to team work is going to look like, Federal News Network 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.

The Forest Service is offering separation incentives to employees ahead of an agency reorganization that will move hundreds of positions across the country. The Forest Service told employees in a recent email that it will offer Voluntary Early Retirement Authority (VERA) and Voluntary Separation Incentive Payments (VSIP) to employees impacted by the agency's upcoming reorganization. The Agriculture Department announced in March that the Forest Service would move its headquarters to Salt Lake City, Utah. Federal News Network's Jory Heckman has more.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Agencies will soon get their first set of marching orders from President Donald Trump's executive order on artificial intelligence from earlier this week. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is expected to issue at least one binding operational directive as soon as today to direct agencies to secure large language models. For more on the BOD and other changes expected from the AI EO, Federal News Network 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.

For more than 50 years, the Combined Federal Campaign has been a part of DC life. It's the world's biggest workplace charity, letting government employees steer money straight from their own paychecks to their chosen charities. It's especially important to charities here because so many feds live here. But the campaign is now on life support — threatened with termination by the Trump administration. Why target a beloved institution? Drew Friedman from Federal News Network has been covering the story, and according to her it's more complicated than it looks.  Want some more DC news? Then make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter City Cast DC. You can text us or leave a voicemail at: (202) 642-2654. You can also become a member, with ad-free listening, for as little as $10 a month. Learn more about the sponsors of this June 4th episode: District Bridges DC Department of Behavioral Health DC Board of Elections Mosaic Theater Company Interested in advertising with City Cast? Find more info HERE.

The Trump administration has taken the final step to make Schedule Policy/Career a reality. Close to 8,000 career federal employees will be moved into the new employment category with limited job protections. The move is meant to boost workforce accountability, but has also drawn sharp criticism. Here with more, 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.

For years, rankings of state dependence on federal spending have focused largely on government transfers. A new study from the Pioneer Institute takes a broader view, incorporating everything from Social Security and Medicare to defense spending, military payrolls and disaster assistance. The results challenge some conventional assumptions, placing Maryland and Virginia among the states most dependent on federal dollars. To learn more, Federal News Network's Eric White spoke with Liam Day of the Pioneer Institute.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The White House is moving toward a voluntary process for reviewing frontier artificial intelligence models for cybersecurity risks. The review process is laid out in an AI security executive order executive order signed out this week. The order also sets the stage for new governmentwide cybersecurity directives. Federal News Network's Justin Doubleday 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.

After upheavals across the federal workforce, and hundreds of thousands of public servants leaving their jobs, grassroots organizations have been rising to meet the moment. One of those groups is called FedsForward, which has been building tech-enabled tools to help civil servants navigate career change. Federal News Network's Drew Friedman recently caught up with Karen Lee, a co-founder of FedsForward.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Enrollees in the government's health insurance programs will soon face tighter requirements when adding family members to their plans. A new final rule from the Office of Personnel Management will expand the verification process for insurance enrollees. It's an effort to reduce spending on ineligible participants. Here with more, 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.

The National Institutes of Health is leaning into artificial intelligence to gather insights from a vast amount of health data. And the hope is that shift will let the agency conduct research more quickly and offer new tools to support clinicians. Susan Gregurick is associate director for data science at NIH. She talked with Federal News Network's Jory Heckman about how AI is helping to unlock insights across disconnected systems.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is hiring again. With Atlantic hurricane season officially underway, FEMA is trying to fill hundreds of open positions. But that comes after the agency lost roughly 5,000 employees since last January. For the latest, 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.

The Agriculture Department is relocating employees at many of its component agencies. That includes staff at the Food and Nutrition Service which carries out SNAP and other food assistance programs used by tens of millions of Americans. But many FNS employees say they would sooner quit than jobs than relocate, according to an internal poll conducted by their union. Federal News Network's Jory Heckman has more.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The regulations for grants management are getting their second major rewrite in two years. The Office of Management and Budget has three main goals in its proposed rewrite of 2 CFR 200, including improving the transparency and accountability of grant awards. Federal News Network executive editor Jason Miller joins me now to discuss what the proposed changes say and would mean for agencies.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

House lawmakers want to ensure any incidents involving Defense Department artificial intelligence systems are quickly reported. The House Armed Services Committee's mark up of the 2027 defense authorization bill would establish a protected disclosure program for AI systems at DoD. For more, 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.

Federal employees may soon see opportunities to move up the career ladder more quickly. The Office of Personnel Management is proposing to eliminate a required waiting period for federal promotions. Here with more, 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.

The Department of Veterans Affairs is getting bipartisan praise for its resumed rollout of a new Electronic Health Record; a multibillion-dollar project that has run into myriad problems since it began under the first Trump administration. The VA rolled out the system to new sites last month after a three-year pause on deployment. Groups representing VA employees, however, say the latest facilities to adopt the new EHR are dealing with problems. Federal News Network's Jory Heckman has more.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Federal Risk Authorization and Management Program is making a simple word change that will hopefully put to rest some long-standing confusion about the cloud security program. Under the new rules, cloud services the program has approved will be dubbed “FedRAMP certified” instead of “FedRAMP authorized.” Nicole Thompson is the security director for FedRAMP at the General Services Administration. She talked about the latest changes with Federal News Network's Jason Miller. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Federal employees may soon have to start signing non-disclosure agreements. The Office of Personnel Management has unveiled a governmentwide NDA template for agencies. It's an attempt to stop government documents from being leaked to the press. Here with more, 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.

The Department of Health and Human Services is shrinking cash awards for its top performers. In its place, the department is shifting a majority of its bonus budget to cover “special act” awards with eligibility criteria that are less well-defined. This is all part of a governmentwide push to limit the number of top scores federal employees get on their annual performance reviews. Federal News Network's Jory Heckman has more. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The General Services Administration's Federal Acquisition Service updated its organizational structure to better reflect how agencies buy and vendors sell. The new setup features five new portfolios called: Assist, Centralize, Create, Deliver and Optimize. Each is bringing together sometimes disparate services and moving FAS out of its previous organizational structure that centered on category management. For more on what drove this reorganization, Federal News Network executive editor Jason Miller caught up with Laura Stanton, the acting commissioner of GSA's FAS.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 looking to overhaul federal employees' avenues for appealing adverse personnel actions. As that gets underway, former officials from the Merit Systems Protection Board are warning of significant consequences for the civil service. Here with more, 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.

Lawmakers are renewing their efforts to give service members the ability to fix their own equipment after popular right to repair provisions were stripped from the 2026 defense policy bill following strong industry pushback. Federal News Network's Anastasia Obis has more.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Department of Health and Human Services carried out widespread layoffs a year ago. Now it's sending out a second wave of reduction in force notices. HHS says these are more targeted layoffs, targeting employees it missed when their offices and programs were eliminated last year. All of this is happening as HHS embarks on a hiring surge. Federal News Network's Jory Heckman has more.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Some adjustments to financial security, retirement payments and insurance options for feds are in the beginning stages of consideration in Congress. Four recent bills that House and Senate lawmakers have introduced over the last few weeks aim to tackle a range of benefits issues across government. Here with details, 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.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has launched a sweeping review of the military legal system, directing the Pentagon's general counsel to convene a special review panel that will conduct what he described as an “ongoing, long-term, departmentwide review of all aspects of the military legal system.” The review faces numerous challenges — and the panel's structure will determine whether it leads to meaningful reform. For more, Federal News Network's Anastasia Obis spoke with Ira Rushing, an associate at the Tully Rinckey law firm…See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Navy is ensuring its officers at the highest levels understand how artificial intelligence works as it adopts and integrates it into its warfighting functions. The Naval Postgraduate School is at the center of those efforts, providing both the courses and the technology to drive that learning. For more on what NPS is doing, Federal News Network executive editor Jason Miller caught up with Randy Pugh, the vice provost for warfare studies, the director of the Office of Warfare Studies and the lead of the AI task force.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The State Department is directing managers to go back and revise recently submitted annual performance evaluations to give employees lower scores. That's all part of recent governmentwide guidance limiting the number of top scores that federal employees can receive. Impacted employees say these changes could disrupt the collaborative nature of their diplomatic work. Federal News Network's Jory Heckman has more. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Last year, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth directed the military services to reduce the number of Permanent Change of Station moves by 50%. The Air Force, in partnership with RAND, then took a closer look at how longer assignments and fewer moves would impact budgets, readiness, retention and the career development of Airmen. To understand more about RAND's findings, Federal News Network's Anastasia Obis spoke with Lisa Harrington, senior operations researcher at RAND and Kelly Atkinson, political scientist at RAND. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Federal agencies doubled their number of AI use cases over the past year. That's according to the latest inventory maintained by the Office of Management and Budget. There are now more than 3,600 use cases documented across the government. Gregory Barbaccia is the federal chief information officer and chief AI officer. In a conversation with Jason Miller, Barbaccia gave us an update on Federal News Network's 2026 A-I and Data Exchange.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Friday Five for May 15, 2026: Field Notes: Camp Ritter The “Spotify 20: Your Party of the Year(s)” TRICARE Transition from DS Logon to myAuth Scammers Using Meta to Target Seniors Introducing the Integrity Health Plan   Get Connected:

The growth of shared services for grants across government has climbed steadily over the last five years. Through the Grants Quality Service Management Office, 29 agencies are using standardized technology services to help award more than $1.2 trillion a year. With more on how the Grants QSMO plans to further drive standardization into grants management, Federal News Network's 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.

Agriculture Department employees are suing Secretary Brooke Rollins over what they are calling “coercive” religious messaging. The lawsuit comes in response to an Easter message that Rollins sent to 100,000 department employees. Plaintiffs say her email implies an “in-group” religion at USDA and that those who don't agree may face “negative consequences.” Here with more, 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.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency's grant processes are about to get a little more transparent. That's because a new law requires FEMA to publish a dashboard of public assistance claims stemming from federal disasters. That requirement comes as the administration and Congress consider broader reforms to FEMA. For more, 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.

The Defense Department is proposing a sweeping rule that would significantly expand the government's scrutiny of foreign ownership and influence across the defense industrial base, requiring tens of thousands of uncleared contractors to comply with security requirements historically applied only to companies handling classified information. For more, Federal News Network's Anastasia Obis spoke with Scott Freling, co-chair of Covington's Government Contracts practice, and Heather Finstuen, partner at Covington & Burling. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Postal Service generally pays its own bills through its own revenue. That's been the way it has operated for more than 50 years. But the agency is floating the possibility of Congress stepping in to provide more financial assistance to keep the agency from running out of cash early next year. Federal News Network's Jory Heckman has more. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

House Republicans are demanding more information about the costs of settlements for federal employee disputes with their agencies. A new letter from leaders on the Oversight committee argues that agencies are settling too often, instead of fighting cases they could likely win. But the letter is also coming under scrutiny from federal employment attorneys. Here with more, 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.

The Pandemic Response Accountability Committee was originally scheduled to sunset in September 2025. But the pandemic watchdog has an ongoing mission; it's overseeing another broad tranche of funding. The One Big, Beautiful Bill Act signed into law last year will keep the PRAC up and running for at least another 8 years and tasks the committee with keeping tabs on the budget reconciliation bill. Ken Dieffenbach is PRAC's executive director. He talked with Federal News Network's Jory Heckman about the committee's ongoing work. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A Trump-appointed advisory committee is urging sweeping overhauls at the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The FEMA Review Council approved its final report to the president last week. The group's report do not include earlier, draft recommendations that would have cut FEMA's workforce by up to 50 percent. Federal News Network's Justin Doubleday joins me with the details.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Military spouses were on Capitol Hill last week to push lawmakers to support legislation aimed at expanding access to capital and Small Business Administration resources for military spouse entrepreneurs , The effort's advocates say this could help address the persistently high military spouse unemployment rate and improve military retention. Federal News Network's Anastasia Obis has more.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 Personnel Management is being urged 'not' to shut down the Combined Federal Campaign. More than 40 Democrats penned a letter to OPM, warning that ending the CFC would be “disastrous” for the organizations that rely on it. The letter comes as the Trump administration is signaling a possible decommission of the decades-old program. Here with more, 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.

The number of contract awards to 8(a) small businesses are down across the government. But Native American, Alaskan Native and Native Hawaiian-owned companies are feeling the brunt of the downturn. The Small Business Administration also has slowed down the approval of new applications to the 8(a) program. SBA hasn't processed an application since August. All of these concerns drove the Native American Contractors Association to finally speak up about the impact of the Trump administration's actions on their communities. For more on this latest in a growing number of concerns about the 8(a) program, Federal News Network 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.