Federal Drive with Tom Temin

With the infrastructure bills up in the air, and the government operating on a continuing resolution for routine spending, you might say the only thing that's certain is uncertainty. For advice how contractors can factor in that uncertainty and keep going, the Federal Drive turned to the senior director of federal market analysis at Deltek, Deniece Peterson. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Few people have more experience in the intricacies of federal procurement than Soraya Correa. She's led procurement operations at several Homeland Security component agencies and at headquarters. And she guided the purchasing staff into the age of the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act era. In all, she spent 40 years in federal service at several agencies. Now she's been inducted as a fellow into the National Academy of Public Administration. Soraya Correa joined the Federal Drive to discuss. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Homeland Security Department's Science and Technology Directorate is in the midst of series of prize competitions. It's asking people to come up with great ideas for helping communities deal with hazards thought to relate to climate change. The theme is resilience. Joining the Federal Drive from the Directorate with details, the senior science advisor for resilience, David Alexander. And the prize challenge program manager, Kathleen Kenyon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Faced with ongoing morale issues, the State Department has highlighted workforce retention goals as part of an agency modernizing strategy. The department is focused on recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce, and addressing recurring problems that have prompted some employees to take a hike mid-career. It’s also keeping telework in place even after the pandemic. Federal News Network's Jory Heckman takes a closer look at the strategy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The military services are getting more attention from Congress on the conditions of their government-owned maintenance depots. Members are concerned that deteriorating facilities are the result of chronic underfunding. Now, the chairman of the House Readiness Subcommittee wants detailed plans on what the military’s going to do to fix things within the next five years. More from Federal News Network’s Jared Serbu. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One of the premier federal employee-focused events returns to an in-person format tonight. It's the annual gala for the Service to America Medals winners and finalists. This year there's a new venue, and quite a list of supporting dignitaries. Partnership for Public Service president and CEO Max Stier joined the Federal Drive with more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Endpoint detection and response. That's cybersecurity jargon for knowing what devices are on your agency's network, and what to do if one of them goes rogue. And now the latest missive from the White House is ordering federal agencies to install endpoint detection and response, or EDR, pretty darn quickly. For how you might respond, the Federal Drive turned to the senior vice president for public sector at McAfee Enterprise, Ken Kartsen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Biden has nominated Kathi Vidal, an experienced patent attorney to become director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. One group says she's a good pick. Holly Fechner is executive director of a non-profit group called Invent Together, which seeks to reduce what it calls the patent gap for women and minorities. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The intelligence community has slowly diversified its workforce in recent years. Minorities made up 27% of the intelligence community workforce in 2020. But like many agencies, the lower ranks of the IC is more diverse than the senior leadership corps. Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines says agencies do a decent job hiring diverse candidates. But they need help retaining them. For the latest the Federal Drive spoke to Federal News Network's Nicole Ogrysko. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

More changes are coming in the next few months for security on two major fronts. First and foremost, some that's been in nearly constant flux for years. Namely, federal security clearance background investigations. Joining the Federal Drive with the latest, Federal News Network’s Justin Doubleday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

No one likes to see a child in pain from a permanent and inoperable condition. But Dr. Brigitte Widemann was able to do something about the terrible disorder known as neurofibromatosis type 1. She's the chief of the pediatric oncology branch of the National Cancer Institute and a finalist in this year's Service to America Medals program. Widemann joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin to explain her work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The AbilityOne program has long connected federal contracting requirements to people with disabilities. Nonprofit contractors employing these folks have not been bound to pay minimum wages. Many employees have in fact consistently received sub-minimum wages for helping produce everything from office furniture to airplane engine parts. Now AbilityOne has proposed a rule to end sub-minimum wages for AbilityOne suppliers who want to keep their federal contracts. For one reaction, the President and CEO of Melwood Larysa Kautz spoke to Federal Drive with Tom Temin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Defense Department is already starting to hand down punishments for service members who refuse to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Now DoD civilians will start getting reprimanded, and eventually fired, if they don’t follow the proper timetables for the shot. Federal News Network’s Scott Maucione joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin for the latest guidance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Biden administration set up another busy year for chief data officers. The Federal Data Strategy’s 2021 action plan directs agencies to focus on cross-cutting work like accelerating developments in artificial intelligence, using government data to stem wildfires and building up data skills within the federal workforce. But it also cuts agencies some slack if they’re behind on goals already established. For more on what CDOs should expect, Federal News Network’s Jory Heckman had more details on Federal Drive with Tom Temin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The National Weather Service - part of the Commerce Department - has been acting on a reform initiative since 2017. It's trying to become more responsive to extreme weather events. And, the Government Accountability Office has found, it mostly done a good job at using best practices for reform. For more on what it still needs to do, the GAO's Acting Director for Natural Resources and Environment Issues, Cardell Johnson, spoke to Federal Drive with Tom Temin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices