Podcasts about jory heckman

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is battling one of the worst Ebola outbreaks on record, calling on its workforce to help contain its spread overseas. But the CDC is dealing with last year's staffing cuts and still lacks permanent leadership in many of its roles. Further, Internal surveys show employees responding to the outbreak are also dealing with low morale. 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 Agriculture Department's sweeping plans to relocate employees are coming into focus. Employees are starting to receive their relocation notices. In the coming weeks, they must decide whether to move to keep their jobs or quit the agency. At one impacted component staff are being offered incentives if they stay or go. 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, 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 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 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.

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 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 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 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 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.

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.

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.

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.

IRS employees temporarily reassigned to cover frontline work during this year's filing season will stay on these assignments a while longer. The agency is asking IT and human resources staff to stay on temporary details for another 120 days. Most impacted staff have been in training and are now addressing a backlog of amended tax returns. 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 State Department has concluded its widespread reduction in force nearly a year after it began. The department is officially separating hundreds of Foreign Service officers who received reduction in force notices last summer. The department tried to part ways with these employees before, but has kept on paid administrative leave since July 2025. 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.

At the State Department, a growing demand for passports has led the Bureau of Consular Affairs to rethink its customer experience strategy. In 2025, the bureau issued more than 27 million passport books and cards. That's a one-year record. Matt Pierce is the deputy assistant secretary of State for passports. As he told Federal News Network's Jory Heckman, the department is managing to hold processing times at record lows – despite that record volume.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

New essay questions on many federal job applications asking candidates how they would advance the Trump administration's policies, are optional, according to the Office of Personnel Management. Unions challenging the questions in a lawsuit say many job applicants can't skip over the essays and can't submit their applications without answering them. The questions are appearing on a growing number of federal job applications. 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.

Top Treasury officials are telling Congress that the IRS pulled off a remarkable feat, carrying out a busier-than-usual filing season with a much smaller workforce. But the Trump administration is still pursuing further workforce and budget cuts for the IRS next year. Officials overseeing the IRS say the agency's long-anticipated investments in technology are paying off and its adoption of artificial intelligence and automation tools means the agency can do more with less. Federal News Network's Jory Heckman joins us with more. 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 expanding its reorganization plans; moving hundreds of additional employees from its component agencies out of the Washington DC area. Food Safety and Inspection Service employees working at its headquarters are being asked to move to states like Iowa and Georgia. USDA is also doubling down on reassignments that began under the first Trump administration. 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 government's landlord and its human resources office are embarking on plans to share the same headquarters. The Office of Personnel Management and the General Services Administration are moving together under one roof. This is the latest example of agencies in the Washington, D.C. area moving out of headquarters that aren't meeting minimum occupancy requirements recently set by law. 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 Forest Service is defending its plan to relocate its headquarters out West and shutter most of its research facilities, as part of a major agency reorganization. The agency is looking to move its headquarters to Salt Lake City, Utah and close all of its regional offices. The agency is making its case to Congress, but says it will proceed with these plans with or without approval from lawmakers. 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 IRS is touting its performance during this year's filing season as evidence that it can still carry out its tax duties despite losing more than a quarter of its workforce under the Trump administration. The agency's top official says technology improvements at the IRS are making it easier for taxpayers to get help online and that it's seen a year-over-year decrease in phone calls. 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 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is giving employees with disabilities more flexibility to telework as a reasonable accommodation. CDC supervisors will once again be able to grant telework as an interim reasonable accommodation, while employees wait for final approval from the Department of Health and Human Services. HHS rolled out a new policy last year that strictly limited medical telework. 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, a former hub of activity for the Department of Government Efficiency is looking to hire hundreds of employees after facing deep workforce cuts last year. The agency's top leader is also taking on a second job as the acting head of the National Archives and Records Administration. And for its current workforce, GSA is asking employees to provide a daily check-in on where they're working. For a look at all of this, we're joined by Federal News Network's Jory Heckman. 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 once again pursuing deep spending cuts for federal civilian agencies, as part of its budget request for next year. Overall it's proposing a 10% cut to nondefense discretionary spending. The White House is also doubling down on reorganization plans that Congress ignored in a comprehensive spending plans for this 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.

More shakeup at the Treasury Department. The department is preparing for targeted layoffs at an office focused on monitoring the stability of the U.S. financial system. And over at the IRS, its IT shop is back in hiring mode. This comes after it permanently reassigned more than 1,200 IT employees to other parts of the agency. 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.

A federal judge ordered the Department of Veterans Affairs to restore its labor contract with its largest union. The VA says it has complied with that ruling, but documents show that it isn't actually implementing the contract's provisions. The case focuses on an executive order President Donald Trump signed last year barring many agencies from collective bargaining. 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 State Department carried out widespread layoffs last summer. But it's still scrutinizing its workforce. The Department is planning to potentially remove or reassign more Foreign Service employees who don't meet new performance standards. This comes as the Trump administration is planning to limit the number of federal employees who can receive top marks 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 Postal Service says it's close to running out of cash and may need to cut delivery days. USPS is asking lawmakers to step in and offer some assistance. Congress passed major postal reform legislation in four years ago, but the mail agency is still seeing multi-billion dollar annual net losses. 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.

President Donald Trump promised he would wage a “war on fraud” at his State of the Union address. Now those plans are coming into focus. A new executive order calls on nearly a dozen benefits-paying agencies to come up with ways to reduce fraudulent payments. Vice President JD Vance will lead the task force. 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.

Hundreds of thousands of taxpayers are facing extended wait times to receive their tax refunds from the IRS. In the past many of them would normally receive a paper check from the agency. But the Trump administration is phasing those out in favor of electronic payments that are faster and less prone to errors. In some cases, taxpayers are now waiting months for their refunds. 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.

A multibillion-dollar backlog of building maintenance projects has grown too large for the federal government's landlord to effectively manage. That's according to a board that advises the General Services Administration on buildings it should sell or dispose of. The board recommends a “radical reduction” of buildings GSA owns. Federal News Network's Jory Heckman join us with more. 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 selling one of its headquarters buildings, as part of an ongoing agency reorganization. USDA is putting its South Building near the National Mall over to the General Services Administration, which plans to put it on the market. Senior officials say the building is underutilized and faces a billion-dollar maintenance backlog. 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 Education Department is handing off more work to other federal agencies, as part of plans to dismantle its operations. It's sharing some of its duties with the departments of State Department and the Department of Health and Human Services. Education transferred some of its employees to the Labor Department last year. But so far, no employees have been detailed to State or HHS. 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 Postal Service typically sees its best financial results in the first quarter of each fiscal year. That's because of the year-end holiday season and sometimes a surge in political mail. But USPS is starting this fiscal year with a $1.3 billion net loss. It posted a rare net profit for the same period last year. The American Postal Workers Union says USPS should focus on affordable services and improved service to win back customers. Federal News Network's Jory Heckman spoke with APWU President Jonathan Smith. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Data from the Department of Veterans Affairs shows it cut health care hiring times by more half. The Trump administration directed agencies to speed up time-to-hire governmentwide. But a closer look at the VA's data shows that it's using different metrics than it's used in the past. For a closer look at the numbers … 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 IRS is notifying back-office employees that they will temporarily cover frontline filing season work through this summer. Training for these detailed employees will begin nearly a month after the start of this year's tax filing season. The agency's taxpayer service division lost a significant number of employees last year. The IRS also fell short of its hiring goals this season. 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 Department of Veterans Affairs is looking to get the rollout of a new multi-billion-dollar Electronic Health Record back on track, after pausing the project for three years. The VA is planning for its new EHR from Oracle-Cerner to go live at 13 sites in 2026. It'll start with four sites in Michigan in April. Unlike previous deployments, the upcoming go-lives to take place in waves. Since 2023 the project has been on pause while the VA addressed outages and productivity declines at sites that adopted the new EHR. For a closer look at this project, Federal News Network's Jory Heckman spoke with VA's Deputy Secretary Paul Lawrence. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A short-term partial government shutdown is over after House lawmakers have reached a deal to fund much of the federal government. A majority of agencies now have funding through the end of the fiscal year. That's except for the Department of Homeland Security. It's under a two-week stopgap spending bill, buying lawmakers more time to negotiate additional guardrails on federal immigration operations. 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 Department of Veterans Affairs is looking to shift more of its health care workforce to facilities facing a growing veteran population. That's the latest from the VA's long-awaited agency reorganization. That also means drawing down staffing levels in places where the veteran population is shrinking. 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 IRS says it's ready for this year's filing season which began on Monday. But the agency faces a slew of challenges. A looming government shutdown would limit its ability to serve taxpayers. The agency also missed several key hiring goal for the filing season and is scaling back expectations for how many calls from taxpayers it will answer. 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 Department of Veterans Affairs is officially lifting a hiring freeze on its health care workforce after shedding tens of thousands of positions last year. But the VA which saw its first-ever workforce net decrease is unlikely to hire its way to a higher headcount than what is currently has. Senate Democrats say VA facilities are still facing strict staffing caps as the department moves ahead with its reorganization. Federal News Network's Jory Heckman 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.

Congressional appropriators are one step closer to reaching a comprehensive spending deal for the rest of the fiscal year before a stopgap spending bill expires at the end of the month. They've released the final four spending bills needed to fully fund the federal government. The bill spares many agencies from deep budget cuts. Federal News Network's Jory Heckman joins us with more. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

More than half of the Social Security Administration's frontline employees are earning less than what's necessary to afford a basic standard of living in their communities. That's according to a new report by Strategic Organizing Center, a research partner for the American Federation of Government Employees. SSA employees say that amid workforce challenges the agency is unable to keep up with the needs of beneficiaries. 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.

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are getting closer to reaching a comprehensive spending package for the rest of fiscal 2026. In the latest step, House and Senate appropriations reached a deal on a new set of spending bills covering financial services, foreign affairs and national security. The spending plan spares the IRS and the State Department from major cuts and calls on speeding up the disposal of excess federal real estate. Federal News Network's Jory Heckman joins us with more. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The IRS is weeks away from the start of a busier-than-usual filing season. But a group of senators is warning that the agency may be stretched too thin to respond to taxpayers' needs. The agency lost about a quarter of its workforce last year and is embarking on a major shakeup of its IT operations. 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.

Congressional appropriators are rejecting some of the most severe agency budget cuts proposed by the Trump administration. It's the latest step lawmakers are taking to pass a comprehensive spending plan for the rest of the fiscal year … and avoid a partial government shutdown at the end of the month. They're also looking to put additional guardrails on unilateral agency reorganizations that could further shrink the federal workforce. 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 Department of Veterans Affairs is embarking on big changes. Next year, it's looking to get the rocky rollout of the new electronic health record back on track. VA medical facilities already using the system have been beset with problems for years. Meanwhile, the VA is planning to roll out the biggest reorganization of its healthcare operation in decades. Federal News Network's Jory Heckman is here with more.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 reshaped many agencies this year. But the General Services Administration became the focus point of many governmentwide changes. The Department of Government Efficiency set high cost-cutting goals for GSA. Next year, an agency watchdog take a closer look at whether it met those targets. 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 Treasury Department is officially suspending Direct File, a free online tax filing platform the IRS launched last year. The department said it's exploring alternatives. That includes strengthening its partnership with tax preparation companies through its Free File program. Direct File expanded to 25 states during this year's filing season and saw higher favorability scores. But Treasury said the program cost too much and didn't see enough usage to keep scaling it up. For more on what happens next, Federal News Network's Jory Heckman spoke with the CEO of Code for America, Amanda Renteria.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.