Hubbard Radio Washington DC, LLC. All rights reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.
What are the strategic priorities of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases? What has been learned about emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases? What's on the horizon for the NIAID? Join host Michael Keegan as he explores these questions and more with Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of NIAID.
The search for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 has covered hundreds of thousands miles of ocean, and the plane still hasn't turned up. But the search has highlighted a growing problem in the oceans: giant blobs of garbage. The Marine Debris Program at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration tracks the problem. The program's mission is to protect and conserve the marine environment and natural resources. Spokesperson Dianna Parker says trash often gets caught in gyres.
House Republicans have released their 2015 budget plan. Plenty of provisions would affect federal employees, if they were to become law. Among them, feds would have to contribute more toward their own retirement. Federal News Radio Web Manager Julia Ziegler tells Federal Drive hosts Tom Temin and Emily Kopp about the plan and shares comments on the issue. Read Federal News Radio's related article.
"Inside the DoD's Reporter's Notebook" is biweekly feature focused on news about the Defense Department and defense community as gathered by Federal News Radio DoD Reporter Jared Serbu.
The House will soon vote on a measure making it easier for the Veterans Affairs secretary to fire or demote senior career executives at the department, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said at a Capitol Hill briefing Thursday. The VA Management Accountability Act allows the VA secretary to remove or demote members of the Senior Executive Service (SES) based on their performance.
Sonny Hashmi, acting CIO at GSA, said his goal is to have at least half of all employees using VDI in 2014 and 75 percent by the end of 2015. VDI, along with application rationalization and other initiatives, is part of how GSA is looking to reduce IT spending further. April 3, 2014
The great thing about federal contracting is that the rulemakers never rest. Just when you are sure you've got it all figured out, things change. The latest rules are just out from the Labor Department. They concern affirmative action programs required of federal contractors. In Federal Drive's weekly legal loop segment, hosts Tom Temin and Emily Kopp turned to procurement attorney Joe Petrillo of Petrillo & Powell for an explanation.
Defense officials hope a new era in military medicine has arrived. The centerpiece is the seven-month-old Defense Health Agency. It replaced TRICARE Management Activity as part of efforts to streamline the delivery of medical services. Maj. Gen. Richard Thomas is the Chief Medical Officer and director of DHA's Operations Command. As part of Federal News Radio's Agency of the Month, he tells Coordinating Producer Lauren Larson how the agency is streamlining delivery and cutting healthcare costs.
"For the first time, you have an operational level organization that can directly interface with all the services — get their input, organize themselves, really solicit and collaborate with the services — so we can build a better military health system," Major General Richard Thomas, chief medical officer and director of DHA Healthcare Operations, told Federal News Radio.
The White House is looking for a few great thinkers for round 3 of the Presidential Innovation Fellows program, which will focus on data innovation, crowdsourcing and digital projects. Applications are being accepted through April 7, with work scheduled to begin on the projects this summer. In part three of Federal News Radio's special report, Solving Our Nation's Toughest Challenges: The Presidential Innovation Fellows, we get a behind-the-scenes look at what's ahead in round 3 of the program.
The Senate's list of experts making recommendations for a 21st century government doesn't include any contractors or contracting groups. Agencies and think tanks will submit recommendations, but so far, no organizations that represent government's industry partners. Roger Waldron, president of the Coalition for Government Procurement, weighs in on In Depth with Francis Rose
A legislative attempt to reform the aging federal personnel system will face a difficult path in Congress even if it's able to muster the support of key stakeholders, including the White House and federal-employee unions. Experts discussed proposed reforms to the civil-service system outlined in a new report published Tuesday by the Partnership and Booz Allen Hamilton.
Today's General Schedule system is a "relic of a bygone era," according to a new report from the Partnership for Public Service and Booz Allen Hamilton. It says the government needs to be more attuned to the private sector. At least one federal union is criticizing the plan. Ron Sanders, vice president of Booz Allen Hamilton, discussed the details of the report with Federal Drive hosts Tom Temin and Emily Kopp.
The U.S. government wants to offload old military equipment in Afghanistan and nearby countries so it doesn't have to pack it up and take it home. Pentagon officials say selling 800 mine-resistant armored vehicles, for example, could make hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue and save $500 million in shipping. For more on the ins and outs of selling military hardware, Federal Drive hosts Tom Temin and Emily Kopp spoke with Kevin Brancato, a defense analyst for Bloomberg Government.