On the In Depth show blog, you can listen to our interviews, find more information about the guests on the show each day, as well as links to other stories and ...
This is the In Depth show blog. Here you can listen to our interviews, find more information about the guests on the show each day, as well as links to other stories and resources we discuss.
Cutting service on Saturdays is still on track at the U.S. Postal Service, according to Postmaster General Patrick Donohoe. He’s getting support from House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa and Senator Tom Coburn, ranking member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. But the Government Accountability Office says there’s a problem with the Postal Service’s plan. Congressman Gerry Connolly was the person who asked the GAO to look at the situation. He joined Francis to discuss what the GAO found.
Budget pressures might completely bypass the Army Corps of Engineers. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee has approved a bill to try to keep the agency’s budget untouched. Jim Dyer, a principal at Podesta Group, joined Francis to discuss the specifics of the bill and whether it will become a reality.
A provision in the 2013 spending bill signed into law by President Obama this week, gives the State Department the flexibility to hire security guards at embassies on a best-value basis. A 1990 law had previously required State to accept the lowest bids on security contracts. The law was called into question after the attack in Benghazi, Libya, in which Ambassador Chris Stevens and three others were killed. Cameron Munter, a former U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan and a non-resident fellow at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, spoke with Francis about how the flexibilities will affect security at embassies overseas.
Moving from checking off boxes to real information assurance is closer to reality. Five agencies currently making a difference in the cyber arena were called out in a new report by SafeGov.org. Frank Reeder, director of the Center for Internet Security at the National Academy of Public Administration, helped write the report. He joined Francis to discuss the group’s recommendations and how the success certain agencies are having could be replicated in other areas of government.
Sequestration might not be as bad as some predicted. Stephen Fuller, director of the Center for Regional Analysis at George Mason University, predicted months ago that two-million jobs would be lost because of sequestration. His analysis came from a study funded by the Aerospace Industries Association. He spoke to WTOP’s Shawn Anderson and Hillary Howard about why he’s more optimistic now.
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