National & World Headlines

  • For a lot of people, the Cold War seems almost like a surreal event. But for decades, it was a very real, at times very hot, war. And there are probably some people in your office who are bona fide cold warriors, like today's guest columnist.

    July 01, 2014
  • The latest check on the Defense Department's push to full audit readiness uncovers a domino effect of problems. The Government Accountability Office says DoD didn't follow a plan to improve how it tracks contract payments. Asif Khan is Director of Financial Management and Assurance Issues at the GAO. Khan told In Depth with Francis Rose that because the Pentagon missed some steps of the plan, it's dealing with even more problems that could keep the agency from meeting an important deadline.

    June 30, 2014
  • The House and Senate Armed Services Committees are trying to pay close attention to defense acquisition reform. Dave Wennergren is senior vice president of technology policy at the Professional Services Council and the Pentagon's former chief information officer. Beth McGrath is director of Deloitte Federal Practice and the Defense Department's former deputy chief management officer. They joined on In Depth with Francis Rose to discuss acquisition reform.

    June 30, 2014
  • The Department of Veterans Affairs is building a "special ops" team of acquisition experts. Ford Heard, the associate deputy assistant secretary for procurement policy, systems and oversight at the VA, joined Federal News Radio's Executive Editor Jason Miller and Francis Rose on In Depth. They discussed the latest results of Federal News Radio's Chief Acquisition Officer Survey.

    June 30, 2014
  • The shrinking Defense Department budget has the Pentagon looking for alternatives to fund its most expensive program. The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Program has faced years of delays and skyrocketing costs. Now, the Pentagon has a new strategy to control the F-35's bottom line. It is asking the builders to put skin in the game. Lt. Gen. Christopher Bogdan is the F-35 program director. He described the F-35's progress as slow but steady, when he joined Tom Temin and Emily Kopp on the Federal Drive.

    June 30, 2014
  • Of the 300 troops authorized by President Barack Obama, 180 have arrived in Baghdad. Half are advisors and the remaining 90 are setting up an operations and intelligence analysis unit. The Pentagon confirms that Predator drones, armed with Hellfire missiles, are now also being used over the capitol for force protection.

    June 30, 2014
  • The Defense Department's request for its overseas contingency operations is about $20 billion less than initial estimates. Former Defense officials say realistic goals and managed expectations usually spelled success for weapons systems.

    June 30, 2014
  • Ford Heard, the Veterans Affairs Department's associate deputy assistant secretary for Procurement Policy, Systems and Oversight, joins Federal News Radio for an online chat on June 30.

    June 30, 2014
  • When a nurse manager at a Veterans Affairs medical center in Albany, New York, saw a patient being unnecessarily kept in restraints for seven hours, she couldn't remain silent. But little did Valerie Riviello know that her actions as a whistleblower would start her down on a path of retaliation from her coworkers.

    June 27, 2014
  • The White House has submitted an updated Fiscal Year (FY) 2015 Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) request to Congress. DoD OCO funding allotted is $58.6 billion and it includes $1.4 billion for State Department programming. President Barack Obama says the request is consistent with the plan he laid out at West Point. The plan called for bringing the U.S. war in Afghanistan to a responsible end, while ensuring our Armed Forces have the flexibility and resources required to respond to emerging needs as terrorist threats around the world continue to evolve.

    June 27, 2014
  • A Virginia government contractor is sentenced for conspiracy to bribe public officials.

    June 27, 2014
  • Army Corps of Engineers faces billions of dollars in backlogged projects. With little hope of additional funding from Congress, officials are looking for alternative ways to finance the public infrastructure they're charged with maintaining.

    June 27, 2014
  • A series of management blunders and agency misbehavior in recent years ranging from the General Services Administration to the Veterans Affairs Department, haven't only put agency leaders in the hot seat — and sometimes out of work. They've also highlighted the importance of better risk-management planning by agencies, current and former federal officials told Federal News Radio as part of a special discussion on risk management.

    June 26, 2014
  • The White House wants $60 billion for the Pentagon's overseas contingency operations in fiscal 2015. Defense News reports the President's OCO budget has an extra $5 billion request for a new counterterrorism fund, too. Over the next few days, Capitol Hill will host a number of defense officials to make their cases for some specific programs. Roger Zakheim is counsel for Covington and Burling, and former deputy staff director of the House Armed Services Committee. He wrote about the relationship between the White House and Congress when it comes to defense budget planning. He shared his thoughts on In Depth with Francis Rose.

    June 26, 2014