On the show today — March 23

On the In Depth show blog, you can listen to the interviews, find more information about the guests on the show each day and links to additional resources.

This is the In Depth show blog. Here you can listen to the interviews, find more information about the guests on the show each day and links to additional resources.

Today’s guests:

Sarah BittlemanSenior energy adviser, USDA

Matchmaking at the Agriculture Department — it isn’t what it sounds like. On March 30, USDA will host a “match-making day” to promote connections between agricultural producers of energy feedstocks with companies interested in producing commercial biofuel solutions.

Sarah Bittleman, senior energy adviser to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.

Click here for more information about the event.


Tammy FlanaganSenior benefits director, National Institute of Transition Planning

No new locality pay cities is the decision from the President’s Pay Agent. (Click here to learn more about the PPA). The board rejected a recommendation from the Federal Salary Council to add Albany, New York; Albuquerque, New Mexico; Bakersfield, California; Charlotte, North Carolina; and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to the list of cities whose federal workers are eligible for locality pay.

Tammy Flanagan, the senior benefits director at the National Institute of Transition Planning breaks down that decision and what it means for feds.


Ginger GroeberPresident of Exfed and former deputy undersecretary of DoD’s Civilian Personnel Policy

Ginger Groeber, a former fed, has a fairly straightforward mission: Helping others become former feds. Groeber’s company, ExFed, aims to align jobseekers with federal experience to a broader array of private-sector jobs where that government experience could be valuable.

Groeber said the new site was launched in part from her own experiences. She’s the former deputy undersecretary of civilian personnel policy at the Defense Department.


Steve PiacenteProgram management oficer, GSA

If “One Shining Moment” isn’t your thing, how about “One Shining Floor Plan?” The General Services Administration has it’s own version of March Madness, and instead of college basketball vying for the trophy, GSA is seeking to name the public’s favorite federal building.

Steve Piacente, a program management officer at GSA, explains how the Federal Building Bracket Challenge works and why the agency is doing it.

Click here to vote for your favorite federal building on GSA’s Facebook page.


(SB&R photo)

Bill Bransfordpartner, Shaw Bransford & Roth

The STOCK Act, short for Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge, passed the Senate and heads to the President’s desk. The legislation not only affects elected representatives, though. Bill Bransford, a partner at Shaw Bransford and Roth, discusses the implications for certain high-ranking federal workers.

Click here to read more about the bill.

Read the story.


Also on the show:

Bob Otto of Agilex and the IBM Center for the Business of Government’s John Kamensky discussed the week’s top federal news on the Federal News Countdown. (Click here to listen.)

Also, In Depth brings you the latest cybersecurity and defense news. Below, find links to the stories mentioned.

DoD seeks health care savings, reorganization of Military Health System

LulzSec aims to strike again

DARPA: DoD ‘limited’ in cyber defense capabilities

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