Federal Drive with Tom Temin

Small companies have an array of regulations and programs to help them get federal contracts. Big companies have the resources to field large, professional federal capture teams. For contractors in the middle, life can be tougher. Paul Murphy, senior data analyst at Bloomberg Government, joins Federal Drive with Tom Temin with more on the challenges of mid-tier contractors.

A new resource to help potential whistleblowers has emerged. A group called Whistleblower Aid aims to help government employees, military service members and contractors stay on the right side of the law when they decide to go public about possible wrong-doing. Federal News Radios Meredith Somers fills in the details on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

The Veterans Affairs Department is focused on a top to bottom modernization that reaches all parts of the agency. Parts of the department's transformation may not be visible to the veteran population the department services. Greg Giddens is the executive director of the Office of Acquisition, Logistics and Construction at VA. In his interview with Federal News Radio's Nicole Ogrysko on Federal Drive with Tom Temin, he explains how the department is working through a backlog of vacant, underused, outdated or badly deteriorated facilities.

Disasters on the scale of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma requires an all-of-government approach. And that's what they got. Tens of thousands of feds from more agencies than you might think are still working around the clock in six states. Mallory Barg Bulman, vice president of research and evaluation at the Partnership for Public Service, offers an assessment on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

NASA is preparing for the next round of space technologies, everything from more reliable circuit boards to space propulsion systems. It's using a special contracting system known as non-reimbursable space act agreements. Steve Jurczyk, NASA's associate administrator for the Space Technology Mission Directorate, joins Federal Drive with Tom Temin in studio.

You might not think of the Army Corps of Engineers as first responders. But the Corps was part of the all-of-government response to Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. Lt. Gen. Todd Semonite, the commanding general and chief of engineers, joins Federal Drive with Tom Temin in studio.

Air Force top commanders say they're looking for more ways to move decision-making authority away from headquarters, from themselves, and give more of it to local commanders. A new policy set for release in the coming days will let squadron commanders make their own calls about, for instance, how much rest their pilots need. Federal News Radios Jared Serbu has more on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

Nearly 40,000 federal employees responding in one way or another to the recent hurricane disasters. With the waters receding, an old problem has popped back into view. Namely, what to do about the federal flood insurance program that was billions in the red before Harvey and Irma. Roll Call Senior Editor David Hawkings joins Federal Drive with Tom Temin to discuss the latest storm brewing on Capitol Hill.

Political appointees often think about their next job while deep into working for the government. That's understandable. They serve at the pleasure of the president, and usually for only two or three years. But a half dozen Interior Department appointees were negotiating private sector jobs toward the end of the Obama administration. They recused themselves from important policy deliberations. Kevin Bogardus, a reporter with E&E News, shares the details on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

With opioids driving up drug overdose death rates, military health practitioners are joining in the battle. West Virginia is one of the states hit the hardest by opioid deaths. Now the Uniformed Services University of the Health Services and West Virginia University are teaming up to take on opioid addiction. Dr. Chester Buckenmaier, professor at the Uniformed Services University and a retired Army colonel, provides details on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

A big piece of the Defense Department's critical infrastructure is in critical condition. Critically bad. It's the four Navy-owned yards where the Navy does maintenance of its fleet. The physical condition of these yards keeps worsening, so the repair tab keeps rising. Federal Drive with Tom Temin learns more from Federal News Radio's Jared Serbu.

If the departments of State, Agriculture and Housing and Urban Development are any indication, federal technology offices are in store for major shakeups over the next year. The shakeups are coming from the Trump administrations mandated reform plans. Details of the changes are still incomplete, but the trend is clear. Agencies want to reduce the back-office duplication of both people and services and centralize the oversight of these functions. In his weekly feature, the Reporters Notebook, Executive Editor Jason Miller writes about why federal chief information officers are at the center of this reorg storm. He shares the details on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

The General Services Administration hasn't got a confirmed administrator, but at least there's a nominee. Emily Murphy has a strong background in acquisition and GSA's Federal Acquisition Service. But there's a lot more to GSA than that, like cars, trucks and buildings. Long-time GSA watcher Larry Allen, president of Allen Federal Business Partners, joins Federal Drive with Tom Temin with more.

World War I doesn't always conjure up images of naval battles. But late in the war in 1918, the U.S. Navy cruiser San Diego sank just off the coast of New York. Now Navy historians plan to survey the wreck. They hope to resolve the question of whether it was torpedoed by a German submarine. Alexis Catsambis, archeologist with the Naval History and Heritage Command, joins Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

Recreational fishermen at resorts in Minnesota sometimes cross a nice lake and end up in Canada. That triggers security checks by Customs and Border Protection when they head back to their resort. Now CBP is testing a program to let anglers use a mobile app to communicate with the agency, saving everyone time and travel. Michele James, director of field operations from CBP's Seattle office, shares more on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.