With the end of the fiscal year, traditionally agencies pick up their tempo of buying. But the fiscal situation this year is a little different. At the Multiple Award Government Industry Conference, Tom caught up with Mary Davie, the assistant commissioner for integrated technology services at the General Services Administration who oversees the agency’s buying vehicles. She told Tom what’s going on now and what GSA is planning for future federal technology requirements.

There’s a new digital ecosystem out there, but the federal government isn’t adapting its acquisition systems, so it’s geared toward the art of the possible. Angela Messer is the executive vice president at Booz Allen Hamilton. She says agencies know they need a more integrated approach. The challenge is how to get there. Messer talked with Tom at last week’s MAGIC conference about what exactly a digital ecosystem is and how federal agencies can adapt to the new environment.

Listen to more interviews from the 2013 MAGIC conference

What started as a trickle is now a steady stream of requests for help. The Federal Employee Education and Assistance Fund gives emergency loans to federal employees in need. It distributed just four furlough-related loans in May; in June that number was up to 82. FEEA Executive Director Steve Bauer joined Tom and Emily to talk about this dramatic trend.

Sequestration is often described as “across-the-board” budget cuts, but the impact on federal agencies is anything but even. Some have escaped furloughs altogether, while others have asked staff to take one or two weeks off unpaid. But that’s not the worst of it. Federal public defender offices are laying off employees because of sequestration. Michael Nachmanoff is the federal public defender for Eastern Virginia. He joined Tom and Emily to explain what is happening in his office.