Federal Drive with Tom Temin

When it comes to dams operated by the federal government, most of us tend to think of the big ones named after former presidents. But the Agriculture Department plays a little-recognized role in managing the nation’s dams too: Tens of thousands of them. Most of them are relatively small, and they’re showing their age. But USDA’s Agricultural Research Service has found innovative ways to extend their lives and prevent potentially catastrophic floods. Sherry Hunt is a supervisory research engineer who’s led ARS’ work on this topic – and she’s a finalist in this year’s Service to America medals program. She talked about her research – and USDA’s role in dam management – with Jared Serbu on Federal Drive with Tom Temin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Defense Department is moving on from 2022, even as Congress debates the upcoming budgets. Defense planners have begun focusing on 2023. In fact they promise a "transformational" 2023. Federal Drive host Tom Temin discusses what's in store for the Defense Department DoD budget with FNN's DoD reporter Scott Maucione. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Federal Drive's Tom Temin talks with Jason Miller about his Reporter's Notebook for this week. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Prison time, restitution, lifetime debarment, loss of your company. That's what can happen if you bribe a federal contracting official, as one contractor found out recently. Federal sales and marketing consultant Larry Allen joined Tom Temin for a recap. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When you're inspector general of a federal department, there's never a shortage of work. A case in point is the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which has some long standing issues in areas like information technology and program improvement. HUD Inspector General Rae Oliver Davis joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin in the studio for a conversation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Senate returns to work today, as questions hover over the $3.5 trillion spending bill sought by most Democrats. Republican members are also questioning the Biden administration's order that all federal employees become vaccinated against COVID-19. Joining the Federal Drive with a look ahead, WTOP Capitol Hill Correspondent Mitchell Miller. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As we continue a look back on the lessons of 9/11, we focus on the intelligence community and how it changed. Robert Cardillo is the former director of the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency, now the President of the Cardillo group. He tells executive editor Jason Miller about how the whole apparatus pivoted overnight. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a bid to make sure no brainpower is overlooked, an Army has established research partnerships with historically black and minority-serving colleges and universities. The topics: Artificial intelligence and machine learning. With details on how the initiative works and what the Army hopes to get, the outreach program manager at the Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Research Laboratory , Dr. Val Emery. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Long-time employees at the Office of Personnel Management have vivid memories of September 11th and its aftermath, the traffic, the chaos of everyone trying to leave Washington. They also remember OPM as a source of information for agencies, helping them decide how to send their employees home and crafting guidance for the following day. Kathy McGettigan is a senior adviser to the OPM director. Kathie Whipple is the agency's deputy general counsel. And Brenda Roberts is the deputy associate director for pay and leave. All three were at OPM then. They tell Federal News Network's Nicole Ogrysko what they remember about how their agency responded. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As we commemorate a Tuesday like no other. 9/11 sparked a resurgence in trust in government, at least temporarily. And it pushed many people to make the career choice to join or stick with government. We asked our listeners and readers to share some of their 9/11 recollections on a special recorded line. What you hear next are their voices. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

More than 50 special agents with the State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service joined the surge of first responders who rushed to the World Trade Center on September 11th, 2001. In the days and weeks that followed, they went supported emergency workers and federal colleagues at Ground Zero. Federal News Network’s Jory Heckman spoke with two of them. Diplomatic Security Service Supervisory special agent Christopher Gu. And, the voice you'll hear first, the assistant special agent in charge of the New York Field Office of Diplomatic Security, Elizabeth McAleer Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Eileen Roemer was an FBI agent and Navy reservist at the time of the attacks. On the week of 9/11, she was serving on active duty at the Navy Command Center in the Pentagon. Roemer’s shift ended in the morning, just before the attacks started. She would go on to aid the family of a colleague who was killed in the attack, and then help lead cadaver dog teams tasked with searching through debris at the Pentagon. She spoke with Federal News Network’s Justin Doubleday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Biden Administration has taken its vaccination-or-test prescription for federal employees to return to the office, a big step further. Now it's ordering all federal employees to become vaccinated, as part of a six-point plan to rein in the stubborn pandemic. Federal News Network's Nicole Ogrysko joined the Federal Drive with the details, and the reactions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For an agency that's only had 7 confirmed secretaries, the Department of Homeland Security's area of responsibility has grown exponentially since it's creation after the attacks of 9/11. To take a look back, and get a sense of where the agency is now, the Federal Drive spoke to Ellen Gilmer who is a senior reporter with Bloomberg Government. She recently had a chance to speak to several current and former DHS leaders to get some perspective. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last month, the National Science Foundation named it's newest leader of its Directorate for Engineering. For the past 4 years, Susan Margulies had been a professor of biomedical engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University. Federal News Network's Jason Miller recently had a chance to talk with her, to discuss why she decided to take her talents to the NSF. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices