Federal Drive

  • The Department of Defense has pursued acquisition reform for decades in an effort to address persistent cost and schedule growth across major programs. Now, six former defense officials at the University of Maryland have a long list of recommendations for how the department can finally achieve it. Jacques Gansler, former under secretary of Defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, chaired this recent work. He sat down with the Federal Drive with Tom Temin for a four-part interview on the report. Gansler says the group looked at the acquisition process in a holistic way.

    October 05, 2015
  • A new survey from (ISC)² finds women make up just 10 percent of the information security workforce in 2015, down a percent from 2013, despite numbers of people entering the industry grew as a whole.

    October 02, 2015
  • The latest biennial survey from (ISC)2 and Booz Allen Hamilton, "Women in Security" shows that women constitute only 10 percent of the privatesector InfoSec workforce.

    October 02, 2015
  • When it comes to the information security workforce, it's still mainly a man's world. An (ISC)2 and Booz Allen Hamilton survey finds infosecurity gender diversity has made some progress, but women still make up a small percentage. This despite the growing demand for people skilled in cyber security, no matter what gender they are. Dan Waddell is managing director of the North America Region at (ISC)2. He joins the Federal Drive with Tom Temin with more on the progress of women as infosecurity pros.

    October 02, 2015
  • The results of the 2015 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey scores, released earlier this week, show employee engagement hit a mediocre, governmentwide average of 64 percent, just 1 percent higher than last year. David Dye is a director with Deloitte's Federal Human Capital Services sector. He studies the viewpoint survey year after year, and joins the Federal Drive with Tom Temin with his take on what the latest results mean.

    October 02, 2015
  • The Senate Armed Services Committee calls on the Defense Department to create a cyber defense policy and not just a strategy. Lawmakers say they are concerned about a lack of definitive plans in case of a major cyber attack against the United States. All of this is happening as the U.S. and China sign an agreement to stop cyber theft. Federal News Radio reporter Scott Maucione tells In Depth's Francis Rose more about the congressional concerns.

    October 02, 2015
  • In today's news, federal employees and retirees who had their personal data stolen should begin receiving letters from the Office of Personnel Management over the next several days, the Air Force is lagging behind the other military services in making its service contracts competitive, and Nov. 5 is the next date federal employees should pay close attention to in the battle of the 2016 budget.

    October 02, 2015
  • Shocking report on widespread Privacy Law violations is laced with the obvious shock and disgust on the part of the Office of Inspector General.

    October 01, 2015
  • Contractors need to be ready for yet another new rule, this one from the Small Business Administration. Depending on what industry a contract is concerned with, contracting officers as of two weeks from now have new authority to give sole-source awards to women-owned and other disadvantaged businesses. Joe Petrillo is a partner at the law firm Petrillo & Powell. He joins Federal Drive with Tom Temin with more on the rule.

    October 01, 2015
  • The Defense Department has teamed up with the National Collegiate Athletic Association to study the effects of concussions on service members and student-athletes. The project is run by a group of investigators dubbed the Concussion Assessment, Research and Education, or CARE, Consortium. Steve Broglio is an associate professor of kinesiology at the University of Michigan and director of the NeuroTrauma Research Lab, one of the consortium's three research branches. He tells Federal News Radio's Matt Wingfield more about the consortium.

    October 01, 2015
  • Congress is set to vote on the National Defense Authorization Act, following an agreement by House and Senate negotiators. The bill is a mixed bag where service members' pocketbooks are concerned. Retired Vice Adm. Norb Ryan is president and CEO of the Military Officers Association of America. He told Federal News Radio's Emily Kopp he is disappointed that troops will get a 1.3 percent pay raise in January.

    October 01, 2015
  • In today's news, President Barack Obama signed a clean funding bill yesterday to keep the government open through Dec. 11, Ashton Carter advises President Barack Obama to veto the Defense Authorization bill, and Martha Dorris, a well-known and well respected leader in the federal IT community, is retiring after 34 years in government.

    October 01, 2015
  • Counterfeit parts seem to bedevil DOD. Congress pushes it to deal. So, naturally, a slew of rules ensues, says Federal Drive host Tom Temin.

    September 30, 2015
  • As it prepares for the 2016 tax filing season, the IRS is in recovery mode from last year. It managed to get its work done, but budget cuts and the resulting reductions in staff took their toll. On the Federal Drive with Tom Temin, National Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olson reviews IRS customer service and what it's got to do. She says the final numbers are now in, and the picture didn't improve much.

    September 30, 2015