Federal Drive Show Blog – November 4, 2013

Each fiscal year presents new challenges for the Defense Department. And it’s only going to get tougher. Defense experts say DoD has to to adjust its strategy in light of continued declines, both from sequestration and from earlier budget agreements. For the latest study on the future of DoD procurement, Tom and Emily spoke to Bloomberg’s defense analyst, Kevin Brancato.

The Obama Administration says it’s making strides to make information easily accessible to people. It announced a fresh set of commitments last week at the summit of the global Open Government Partnership. The director of Open Government Policy at the Center for Effective Government, Sean Moulton, has more.

The federal government is in the midst of overhauling the process and criteria for how it recognizes Indian tribes. Is this something that needs to be done? Attorney Judith Shapiro is a Washington sole-practitioner who represents Indian tribes. She says the process very much needs changing.

The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee is expected to debate a new version of the DATA Act this week. Jason Miller has details on this and other stories in his Inside the Reporter’s Notebook.