Agency Oversight
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Besides searching people bodily, the Transportation Security Administration watches travelers in airports, looking for suspicious behaviors. But TSA has little evidence the behaviors mean anything at all, according to the Government Accountability Office. Jenny Grover, director of homeland security and justice issues at the GAO, provides the details on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.
August 01, 2017 -
Work never stops for the Homeland Security office of inspector general. Two recent investigations found some common problems — weaknesses in IT systems or procedures for managing basic functions. Deputy Inspector General John Kelly shares the details on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.
July 31, 2017 -
Walter Shaub, who publicly clashed with the Trump administration during his time as government ethics director, wants to give his former office more teeth.
July 28, 2017 -
A new OMB mandate gives agencies until Sept. 1 to come up with plans to transition their own package shipping contracts to a new contract vehicle negotiated and administered by the Defense Department.
July 27, 2017 -
As members of Congress encourage the whistleblower community to continue to speak up, they acknowledged the long list of improvements they want to make to whistleblower protections at individual agencies like the IRS and FBI.
July 27, 2017 -
Modern life would be impossible without chemicals — yet many chemicals are dangerous. The EPA has a longstanding program for evaluating those risks and providing regulations. Dr. Jeffery Morris, director of the office of pollution prevention and toxics at the EPA, joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin to discuss a 2015 law — the Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century — that imposes a new risk management approach to chemical safety for the agency.
July 27, 2017 -
The Internal Revenue Service is working to roll out a new agency-wide email system by the end of the year that will automatically archive messages for record-keeping purposes. The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration said under legacy processes, the IRS is running afoul of federal records laws in several ways. Greg Kutz, assistant inspector general for audit at TIGTA, joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin to talk about what the office found when it took a deep dive into records.
July 27, 2017 -
Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and IRS Commissioner John Koskinen urged Congress to fund the tax administration so it can invest in IT infrastructure, and meet customer service demands.
July 26, 2017 -
The Veterans Affairs Department managed to double its rate of processing claims for Gulf War Illness, completing more than 11,000 of them in a year. But that number doesn't tell the whole story. Some denial letters were poorly written and claims staff often lacked training. Melissa Emrey-Arras, director of education, workforce and income security issues at the Government Accountability Office, shares the details on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.
July 25, 2017 -
In a sense, it also take a village to take down a major Medicare fraud ring — 400 defendants, including 57 doctors, 162 nurses and 36 pharmacists.
July 24, 2017 -
Both the Trump administration and Congress are offering new goals to cut government improper payments over the next five to 10 years. Experts in the field say the targets aren't impossible but need attention and investments in agency technology and personnel.
July 20, 2017 -
The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will consider a series of bills this week that could impact the federal workforce. Among them is legislation that would give participants more options to withdraw investments from the Thrift Savings Plan.
July 17, 2017 -
There are 23 states that have a pay-for-performance system, according to consultant Howard Risher. Florida's began in 1968, with Wisconsin and Utah following a year later. Bob Tobias, professor in the Key Executive Leadership program at American University, joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin to assess if the same system could work for the federal government.
July 17, 2017 -
A Medicare program called hospital value-based purchasing has the goal of rewarding hospitals that give high quality care at lower costs. But, quite a few hospitals have been receiving bonuses for efficiency even though the care they give is sub-par, according to findings from the Government Accountability Office. Joining me with more, James Cosgrove, the GAO's director of health care issues, shares the details on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.
July 13, 2017 -
General Services Administration acting Administrator Tim Horne told a congressional subcommittee the FBI headquarters project is cancelled, but not completely out of the running. Horne said the Trump Organization is in full compliance when it comes to the Old Post Office lease.
July 12, 2017