Growing numbers of federal employees are about to come under what's known as continuous vetting. Public databases automatically monitored by security officials to make sure you haven't been criminally charged or suddenly incurred large debt. Those with national security clearance are mostly under continuous vetting already. Now the Office of Personnel Management plans to expand that to feds with so-called non-sensitive public trust positions. How should agencies prepare? How should you prepare? For insight, Federal Drive Host Tom Temin spoke with the managing partner of the Tully Rinckey law firm, Dan Meyer.
The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health has proceeded with its promised network of health innovation sites. Anchoring the network are three regional hubs also planned at the inception of ARPA-H. For what they hope for the network, Federal Drive Host Tom Temin talked with the Director of the agency's Project Accelerator Transition Innovation office, Craig Gravitz.
In today's Federal Newscast: The size of the U.S. military has dropped nearly 3%. FEMA and CISA publish a first-ever guide for emergency managers to prepare for attack. And the number of TSP millionaires jumps to nearly 100,000.
Bloomberg Government predicts record contract spending, once Congress passes appropriations bills for 2024. It sees $762 billion in total procurement, including $113 billion for professional services. With how companies need to prepare, Federal Drive Host Tom Temin turned to federal sales and marketing consultant Larry Allen.
After more than 30 years at the National Institutes of Health, the next guest has been recognized by the Senior Executives Association with the 2023 Spirit of Excellence award for diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility.
A group called the National Network for Critical Technology Assessment is the latest to call for restoration of U.S. scientific and technology preeminence. The group, working under a National Science Foundation grant, said, "Something disruptive is needed in how we fund the pathway from translational discovery to commercialization." For more, Federal Drive Host Tom Temin is joined by Network member and Carnegie Mellon engineering and public policy professor Erica Fuchs.
In today's Federal Newscast: The GSA is pouring $2 billion into sustainable construction projects. Data brokers are selling sensitive information like health and financial data of current and former military personnel. And Jane Rathbun is losing her "acting" title as the Navy Department's chief information officer.
The Health and Human Services Department (HHS) has launched a new challenge. It is seeking what it calls community-level solutions for health inequities. Prizes will total a million dollars. For how it works, the Federal Drive with Tom Temin talked with the Interim Director of the HHS office of Environmental Justice, Sharunda Buchanan.