Federal Drive

  • On today's Federal Newscast: Several workers at the Government Publishing Office have filed a lawsuit, alleging a pervasive workplace culture of racism and sexism. The Biden administration is kicking off the first update to the national cyber incident response plan in seven years. And the IRS crackdown on wealthy tax cheats is bringing in millions of dollars.

    October 23, 2023
  • The Federal Lab Consortium (FLC) is looking to see if there is interest in a mentorship program for federal technology transfer professionals. It recently wrapped up a survey of FLC members to gauge the viability of such a program. To hear about how the survey went and what a program like this would look like, Federal Drive Executive Producer Eric White spoke to Whitney Hastings, the Chair of the FLC, as well as a Senior Technology Transfer Professional with the National Cancer Institute, along with David Kistin, Vice Chair of the FLC, and also Manager of Technology and Economic Development at the Sandia National Laboratories.

    October 20, 2023
  • Since the Supreme Court's ruling paved the way for states to ban abortion, confusion among the medical community in certain states is at an all-time high as to the treatments they are able to provide. The same goes for the Veterans Health Administration. The Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General recently conducted a review of its reproductive care for female veterans. Federal Drive Executive Producer Eric White spoke with Julie Kroviak, Principal Deputy Assistant Inspector General for the Office of Healthcare Inspections at VA OIG.

    October 20, 2023
  • In today's Federal Newscast: FEMA is asking the public to test features on its mobile app. Military records destroyed in a 1973 fire leave some vets from the 1960s trying to prove service. And federal contracting dollars for women-owned small business continue to remain below 5%.

    October 20, 2023
  • With the third quarter of 2023 wrapped up, TSP returns did not look quite as solid. To get a sense of what that means and what investors should consider, Federal Drive host Tom Temin got an update from certified financial planner Art Stein.

    October 19, 2023
  • Agencies are supposed to protect their data systems from cybersecurity threats, especially those known as high value asset systems. The Homeland Security Department office of inspector general looked at a high value asset system operated by the Transportation Security Administration.

    October 19, 2023
  • Obesity is worsening as a military recruitment and readiness problem. Too many potential enlistees arrive at recruitment stations too fat. More than two thirds of active duty service members carry too much weight. Federal Drive Host Tom Temin talked with someone who has studied this problem extensively, and has some recommendations for improving it: National Security Research Fellow at the American Security Project, Courtney Manning.

    October 19, 2023
  • Overweight and obesity affect military readiness and retention, but it doesn't have to.

    October 19, 2023
  • In today's Federal Newscast: Sen. Sinema (I-Ariz.) has introduced a bill that would improve death benefits for civilian feds. The SBA has come under fire for planning to ignore pandemic loans under $100,000. And the Coast Guard is looking into AI to catch illegal fishermen.

    October 19, 2023
  • Women veterans, who were wounded or injured, are more likely, compared to men, to have post traumatic stress disorder and to die by suicide. That is according to the Wounded Warrior Project, which surveyed 18,000 male and female veterans. For more on the survey, Federal Drive Host Tom Temin spoke with Tracy Farrell, VP of the Project.

    October 18, 2023
  • Two tough new rules from the Federal Acquisition Regulation Council are coming, but originating with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. They have to do with contractor incident reporting and for how contractors button up unclassified systems.

    October 18, 2023
  • An urgent report from the Government Accountability Office is aimed at the State Department. GAO called for State to, in its words, "expeditiously get on with a cybersecurity risk management program." State has a plan, now it has to carry it out. For more on this, Federal Drive Host Tom Temin spoke with Jennifer Franks, GAO's Director of Information Technology and Cybersecurity.

    October 18, 2023
  • In today's Federal Newscast: The Defense Department awards $40 million dollars in research grants to four Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Federal employees and supervisors will get even more hybrid-work training opportunities. And heading toward the 2030 count, the Census Bureau looks for public feedback.

    October 18, 2023
  • Conference work on the National Defense Authorization Act for 2024 proceeds, even as nothing else in Congress seems to be working. As always, the NDAA has provisions affecting Defense contractors.

    October 17, 2023