Nikki Clowers, director of financial markets and community investment issues at the Government Accountability Office, joins In Depth for a deep-dive look into how the agency compiles its annual duplication report and what’s its findings mean for agencies. GAO’s report, issued last week, outlined 17 government mission areas in which agency programs duplicate one another, overlap with each other or are fragmented across agencies in an uncoordinated fashion.

Redundant agency programs wasting billions of dollars

Events like the attacks in Boston shape the way people think about the federal government. And right now they don’t think too highly of the government — just 28 percent of respondents to a recent Pew Research Center poll expressed a favorable view of government. Tom Shoop, editor-in-chief at Government Executive Magazine, joins In Depth to discuss the federal response to the Boston attacks.

Opinions of the Federal Government Hit All-Time Low (related link)

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey made their case for the fiscal 2014 budget request on Capitol Hill today. But some members of Congress are interested in learning more about th other DoD budget — the Overseas Contingency Operations budget. Russell Rumbaugh, director of budgeting for foreign affairs and defense and a senior associate at the Stimson Center, joins In Depth to discuss the OCO budget.

The federal response in the aftermath of the Boston explosions yesterday is a collaborative effort. The FBI takes the lead in investigating the explosions, but many federal agencies will participate. Bradley Schreiber, vice president of Washington operations at the Applied Science Foundation for Homeland Security and a former senior adviser at the Homeland Security Department, tells In Depth preparation and practice will make the difference in responding.

Federal response to Boston bombings ‘swift and substantial,’ expert says (related story)

Shrinking budgets and uncertainty aren’t just affecting federal agencies. The contracting community is sorting out its next moves too. That may mean some activity in the mergers-and-acquisitions field. Michael Lewis, co-founder and managing director of the Silverline Group, joins In Depth to discuss the current M&A market.

Contractors spinning off divisions as Defense budget ax falls (related link)