Agriculture Department
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Khem Sharma discusses the Small Business Administration's plans to raise size standards for companies in two groups. Dr. Murray Lumpkin of the FDA talks about the close coordination between two countries. Stuart Delery explains how the Justice Department recovered $5 billion under the False Claims Act last year.
December 14, 2012 -
Multiple current and former Forest Service employees say they've faced sexual harassment and physical assault while on the job, and some have lost their positions for speaking up. Now, they are fighting back by filing a class action EEOC complaint for unfair treatment. The Agriculture Department, the parent agency of the Forest Service, says it is tackling a history of discrimination with more training and accountability as part of a cultural transformation program.
December 03, 2012 -
Export-Import Bank President Fred Hochberg explains why his agency had a banner year, with a record number of transactions in fiscal 2012. And a professor at the Wharton School describes how private insurance companies are making money off the National Flood Insurance Program — but taxpayers are likely to pick up the slack when claims surpass premiums.
November 16, 2012 -
Roy Smith of the Interactive Technology Group talks about his career in procurement. Anthony Vegliante of the USPS says no more buyouts. Kevin Concannon of the USDA discusses support for hurricane victims. IBM's Dan Chenok reviews the challenges President Obama may face in his second term.
November 08, 2012 -
Deputy CIO Charles McClam said the Department of Agriculture is developing a policy and has awarded a mobile device management contract to figure out how best to let employees use their own smartphones and tablet devices on the agency's computer network. NASA Goddard also is creating a BYOD policy that depends on its virtual desktop infrastructure.
November 08, 2012 -
The Agriculture Department is addressing long- standing discrimination claims by minorities and women with better workforce training, more accountability and a deeper look at its data. USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack shares with The Federal Drives recent efforts to address the agency's shaky civil rights history.
October 16, 2012 -
The Department of Agriculture's new online consumer complaint form could help the agency trace the root of a food safety problem. Federal News Radio interviews David Goldman, assistant administrator for USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service.
October 15, 2012 -
David Goldman of Public Health Science discusses a new customer complaint form put out by USDA. Martin Libicki of the Rand Corp. talks about Defense Secretary Leon Panetta's recent speech on cybersecurity. John Mahoney discusses the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's latest report on the federal workforce. GAO's Brenda Farrell talks about her agency's analysis of the Military Health System.
October 15, 2012 -
The federal government as a whole has consistently missed its goal to award 23 percent of its contract dollars to small businesses. But the government also has examples of agencies bucking that trend. In part two of our special report, The Small Business Dilemma, Federal News Radio speaks with several agencies' about how they're succeeding in the small business contracting arena.
October 10, 2012 -
Livia Marques created a nationwide community garden network that, to date, has donated 1.3 million pounds of produce to the needy. She is a finalist for the 2012 Service to America Medals.
September 11, 2012 -
Acting Director Jeff Zients wrote in a blog post today that agencies have met half of President Obama's goal to save $8 billion by the end of 2013.
September 04, 2012 -
Rob Strayer of the Bipartisan Policy Center discusses the compromise cybersecurity bill. Daniel Schuman talks about the Congressional Research Service. Dick Gregg fills us in on the Treasury's annual fiscal report.
July 23, 2012 -
A new report details mixed progress on a law requiring agencies to write using plain language when dealing with the public. The Center for Plain Language awarded the Agriculture Department an "A" for its efforts, the highest score of 12 large agencies and departments it surveyed. The Veterans Affairs Department, however, earned an "F" for its mostly incomplete progress.
July 20, 2012 -
The Government Accountability Office assessed the performance of seven federal agencies in migrating some of their services to the cloud as required by the Office of Management and Budget. Five of the seven agencies succeeded in meeting OMB's requirements and the other two are expected to be compliant by year's end.
July 13, 2012 -
The agencies are making $30 million available for companies to investigate the possibilities for creating military biofuels. The projects could help achieve the President's energy goals, military energy security and rural economic improvement.
July 03, 2012