In Depth interviews – May 18

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.

Thad Allen— Former U.S. Coast Guard Commandant

For some of the most difficult and challenging events of the past few decades, Thad Allen, the former U.S. Coast Guard Commandant, has been on the scene.

He was Coast Guard Commander of the Atlantic Area following 9/11. He was the principal federal official for the government’s response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. And he also served as National Incident Commander after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Allen, now a senior vice president at Booz Allen, spoke Thursday at the Counter Terror Expo in a keynote address about the intersection of counterterrorism and disaster response.

John Hegarty — President, National Postal Mail Handlers Union

The U.S. Postal Service plans to close 48 mail processing plants this summer and nearly 230 by the end of 2014.

The closures and consolidations spell a total reduction of 28,000 positions. When the new schedule for closures was announced, John Hegarty, the president of the National Postal Mail Handlers Union, said the union was working closely to ensure the rights of mail-handlers would be protected.

Hegarty shared his thoughts on the timetable as well whether he thinks congressional action could change the course already outlined.

Bob Leins — President, National Institute of Transition Planning

Financial experts across the country are jealous of something all federal employees have: Their participation in the Thrift Savings Plan.

But despite the fact that the TSP is such a good deal, many federal workers aren’t maxing out their contributions to the plan to allow them the benefit of a full agency match.

Bob Leins, the president of the National Institute of Transition Planning, joins In Depth to discuss the benefits of the TSP.

Bill automatically increases feds’ TSP contributions

Leins also co-hosts “For Your Benefit” Monday mornings at 10 a.m. on Federal News Radio.

Roger Waldron — President, Coalition for Government Procurement

The General Services Administration Expo event in San Antonio kicked off this week.

But it looked and felt a little different compared to previous years. The GSA conference spending scandal, which came to light last month, has reverberated across government and even led to lower attendance at the GSA Expo this year , according to industry attendees.

Roger Waldron, the president of the Coalition for Government Procurement, discussed how the event stacked up compared to previous ones.

Paul Strasser — Senior Vice President and General Manager Dynamic Research Corporation

The next step for the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) is ready to roll. The General Services Administration has cleared nine organizations — eight companies and one federal agenciy — to provide third-party assessments of cloud services.

One of the companies on the list is Dynamic Research Corporation. DRC Senior Vice President and General Manager Paul Strasser joins In Depth to discuss the company’s role as a 3PAO — a third-party assessment organization.

Click here for a list of all nine 3PAOs.

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