Federal Drive with Tom Temin

Green might be the General Services Administration's new favorite color, but not because of money. GSA is energizing its commitment to green government across its entire portfolio of products and services. Federal News Network executive editor Jason Miller joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin to discuss how GSA plans to do its part to battle climate change. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Small Business Administration relied on telework to nearly triple its workforce during the pandemic so it didn't need to expand office space. Now the SBA is considering the benefits of making telework a permanent way of life for its workforce. Agency officials said it would help employees respond faster to natural disasters and managers recruit from a broader pool of talent. Federal News Network’s Jory Heckman had more on Federal Drive with Tom Temin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There's a hidden trap in the Government Accountability Office's rules for contract award protests. The trap closed on the foot of one contractor trying to do business with the Army. Procurement attorney Joseph Petrillo of Smith Pachter McWhorter joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin for the details. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With so much attention on a series of forthcoming multiple award contracts, it might be easy for companies to forget about the old, reliable, GSA Schedule. As our next guest reminds us, the Multiple Award Schedule contract did record business last year. Larry Allen is president of Allen Federal Business Partners. He talked with the Federal Drive about why the schedule contracts might not be getting the attention they deserve right now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For a variety of reasons, career military families are, on the whole, less financially literate than the general population. That's according to an annual survey of financial readiness conducted by First Command Financial Services. In the latest findings, the gap appears to be widening. For more details, Tom Temin talked with First Command president and CEO, Mark Steffe Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This agency has given out more than $1 billion in grant money under the Cares Act passed last year. And it gets another $3 billion under the American Rescue Plan. If you're thinking Small Business Administration, think again. It's the Economic Development Administration. Tom Temin talked about pandemic relief with the Deputy Assistant Commerce Secretary for Economic Development, and the Chief Operating Officer of the EDA, Dennis Alvord. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Employee engagement topped 72% in 2020. Up four points from the previous year. That's according to the results of the 2020 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey. The Office of Personnel Management acknowledges the results could be surprising given the challenges of the last year. But federal employees in some ways are more engaged because of those challenges. Federal News Network's Nicole Ogrysko joined the Federal Drive to run through the results. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency required agencies to take action against a major problem with the virtual private network software from Pulse Secure. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The National Science Foundation would get an extra $50 billion under a proposal from the Biden administration. The NSF would establish a technology directorate, and give out grants for advanced chip making, communications, and other technologies deemed crucial to American competitiveness. Biden also wants tens of billions for other research initiatives. Joining the Federal Drive with how this might all work, North Carolina State University industrial and systems engineering professor Julie Swann. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Biden will give his 'not' the State of the Union speech to Congress this week. So more parts of the administration's agenda could come into sharper focus, and give Congress more things to disagree on. Federal Drive with Tom Temin welcomed WTOP Capitol Hill correspondent Mitchell Miller for a preview of this and other matters in the week ahead. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Government Publishing Office wants to make every government document accessible online. Every government document. Let that sink in for a moment. For how they'll chase everything down, and why, the Federal Drive turned to the GPO director, Hugh Halpern. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s been five years since Congress started giving the Defense Department new authorities to hire cyber professionals quickly. But DoD is finally putting those tools to use in a big way. This year, it’s onboarded thousands of new employees using direct hire authorities. And the department has made a big dent in how long it takes to complete the hiring process. Federal News Network’s Jared Serbu has an update on DoD’s efforts to build its cyber workforce. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

FEMA is dealing with about 960 declared disasters around the country right now. And there's at at least one in every state. What's more, they're not all pandemic related. There’s the influx of migrants at the southern border, lingering winter storm damage, and prepping for wildfire and hurricane seasons, But it was COVID-19 after all that shed light on the weaknesses in FEMA’s command and supply chains. More from Federal News Network's Amelia Brust. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Expenses rose, but so did financial liquidity. That sort of summarizes what happened to the U.S. Postal Service throughout the pandemic. Here with more on what a detailed look at the USPS found, the cost and pricing audit director for its office of inspector general, Sherry Fullwood. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A teaming arrangement between NASA and Germany's Aerospace Center has started focusing on the earth's mesophere and lower thermosphere, where scientists say they have a lot to learn. They're using an instrument known as the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, or SOFIA. With how the joint venture works and what each country brings to it, the Federal Drive turned to the director of the SOFIA science mission operations, Dr. Margaret Meixner. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices