Tom Temin

  • 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
  • In today's Federal Newscast, after the first measure failed to pass the House, both chambers' respective Veterans Affairs committees have new legislation on the table.

    July 27, 2017
  • Six months in and the Trump administration — 12.5 percent through its term — still has many appointed positions unfilled. Mallory Barg Bulman is vice president for research and evaluation at the Partnership for Public Service. She joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin with a scorecard to date and explained why this is critically important.

    July 26, 2017
  • As part of next year’s Defense authorization bill, the House has voted to make one of the biggest organizational changes to the U.S. military in decades: removing space missions from the Air Force and giving them to a brand new military service: the U.S. Space Corps. The idea’s fate is uncertain. It’s strongly opposed by the Trump administration, and it’s not received a warm reception in the Senate.

    July 26, 2017
  • It’s the most expensive military program ever – and the most durable. The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter has survived administration after administration. But because of uncertainty over how many the military will buy each year, it’s hard to predict the total cost. For analysis, Federal Drive with Tom Temin spoke with Chris Taylor, the CEO of the market research firm Govini.

    July 26, 2017
  • In today's Federal Newscast, the Justice Department says three postal workers conspired to use USPS equipment to distribute large amounts of pot to the D.C. area.

    July 26, 2017
  • Forces are building for fundamental reform. But the White House needs to lead more.

    July 26, 2017
  • As its time grows shorter, Congress' agenda seems to grow longer. Yet members appear ready to head off to their August recess soon, and the long-term absence of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) because of his cancer diagnosis changes the calculus. Roll Call Senior Editor David Hawkings offers his take on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

    July 25, 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
  • Post traumatic stress syndrome presents a continuous challenge to military doctors. No single treatment works for everyone or in every circumstance. Now the Army has launched a study to test a novel way of treating PTSD with an injection to the neck. Dr. Ron Hoover, senior scientist and PTSD research portfolio manager for the Army, provides details on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

    July 25, 2017
  • In today's Federal Newscast, the Internal Revenue Service is trying out a pilot program to let taxpayers meet with IRS representatives through virtual conferences.

    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
  • All those wonderful apps that rely on global positioning don't just happen. They depend on a fleet of satellites. That fleet is old, with lots of satellites on the verge of winking out. Kevin Brancato, director of government contracts at Bloomberg Government, updates Federal Drive with Tom Temin about on the status of fleet renewal.

    July 24, 2017