Federal Drive with Tom Temin

Sometimes forgotten during the pandemic is that drug overdose deaths have continued to rise. After the Covid threat recedes, the opioid addiction crisis will rage on. That's why the Drug Enforcement Administration puts a lot of resources into its periodic drug take-back days. Here with a behind-the-scenes look, acting DEA administrator D. Christopher Evans. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Office of Personnel Management is a small step closer toward permanent leadership. Kiran Ahuja is the president's pick to lead OPM. The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee considered her nomination yesterday. Committee members say OPM needs to rebuild confidence and develop an innovative plan for federal workforce. Ahuja acknowledges she has a tough job ahead of her if confirmed. More now from Federal News Network's Nicole Ogrysko. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s been eight years and OMB and Congress still can’t see eye-to-eye over what should be a simple definition of a data center. After memos, policies and laws, the concept of a data center continues to cause heartburn among federal technology leaders and lawmakers. We saw that on display at the bi-annual hearing on the Federal IT Acquisition Reform Act scorecard. Federal News Network’s Jason Miller heard the hearing and joined the Federal Drive to discuss. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the National Park Service enters its second spring since the pandemic, growing numbers of Americans are vaccinated and looking forward to a little normalcy outdoors. So there's special meaning in this year's annual National Parks week. Spokeswoman Kathy Kupper has a few of the highlights. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It may not look like it from the television images, but Immigration and Customs Enforcement does maintain standards for the detention of illegal immigrants. But it doesn't always follow them. That's what the Homeland Security Office of Inspector General found at the La Palma Correctional Center in Eloy, Arizona, one of 200 such facilities around the country. Here with details, Principal Deputy Inspector General Glen Sklar, and OIG senior advisor Ellen McSweeney. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Few federal management challenges seem as intractable as the need for better cybersecurity. The Solar Winds incident provided the latest evidence. Pretty much everyone agrees. Now the Biden administration has mostly filled out the top cybersecurity positions. For what should happen next, we turn to a leading Congressional voice for cybersecurity, New York congressman John Katko (R-N.Y.). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Army has spent decades building what leaders say are artificial boundaries between the IT networks soldiers use at their home stations and the ones they use on the battlefield. And since that’s no way to win a war against a near-peer adversary, it’s time to finally bridge that divide. The Army plans to start implementing concepts that are meant to unify its enterprise and tactical networks as soon as next year. Details from Federal News Network’s Jared Serbu. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Department of Veterans Affairs says it's directing help to homeless veterans more quickly thanks to its Status, Query, and Response Exchange System, or SQUARES. The platform helps homelessness service providers determine who's eligible for assistance. That process used to take weeks or months. Now it can take minutes. For more about the platform and how it fits into VA's IT strategy, Federal News Network's Nicole Ogrysko spoke with the senior director of the digital transformation center at VA's Office of Information and Technology, Thomas Guido. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A plan to enhance the screening of international packages for illegal opioids like fentanyl is coming into focus at Customs and Border Protection. CBP is gathering feedback on an interim final rule that strengthens the collection and sharing of advance electronic data on packages coming into the U.S. This rule is part of CBP working with the Postal Service to stand up the Synthetics Trafficking and Overdose Prevention plan, something Congress ordered in 2018. For more on how the rule puts CBP one step ahead of drug smugglers, Federal News Network’s Jory Heckman spoke with the agency’s Executive Director for Cargo and Conveyance Security, Thomas Overacker, on Federal Drive with Tom Temin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Navy is constantly at sea, but how much is it thinking about the neighboring fish? The Coast Guard and Navy are teaming up to combat illegal fishing. The issue fits in with great power competition and climate change issues, especially as China pushes its own fishing vessels into gray zones in the ocean. Federal News Network’s Scott Maucione spoke with Ocean Power Technologies CEO George Kirby and a member of the Naval Postgraduate School’s Sea Land Air Military Research Initiative, Ray Buettner. Hear more on Federal Drive with Tom Temin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Four years in, the FirstNet program is adding 5G technology to the nation's first responder network. And it's been steadily building out coverage in rural parts of the country. Here with a progress report on the fourth anniversary of its contract with AT&T, the CEO of the FirstNet Authority, Ed Parkinson, spoke to Federal Drive with Tom Temin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Like homelessness, suicide among veterans is a persistent and tragic problem which the Department of Veterans Affairs has been working for years to prevent. Now the Government Accountability Office has come out with some recommendations on how VA can better staff-up and use its suicide prevention teams. For more insight, the GAO's Director of Health Care Issues, Debra Draper, spoke to Federal Drive with Tom Temin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Coast Guard members are working to make the upcoming Bring Your Child to Work Day something special, even if it will be mostly online. In fact online they can do things that would likely be out of the question in person. For the details, the Assistant Commandant for Capability, Rear Adm. John Mauger, spoke to Federal Drive with Tom Temin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Per President Biden's policy in Afghanistan, the remaining couple of thousand troops will soon return. Now contractors supporting both the troops and a number of services over there, are trying to get answers about what's ahead. Here with some of the questions, Professional Services Council and CEO David Berteau. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We continue our discussion of how the federal government can bolster domestic production of rare-earth elements crucial to electric vehicles and other energy imperatives. For more on the elements themselves and why they matter, the Energy Department's program manager for Research and Development Consortia, Dr. Mike McKittrick. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices