Federal Drive with Tom Temin

The results of the 2020 election might have taken weeks to resolve, but now there's fresh evidence the balloting was kosher. That's according to detailed analyses conducted by the Mitre Corporation's National Election Security Lab. Here with how they did it, Mitre's director of cyber integration, Emily Frye. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The recent, $1.9 trillion spending bill has a lot of elements. It seeks to improve the condition of small business. It also includes money to help the government modernize its information technology. Several provisions impinge directly on the General Services Administration. For more, Acting GSA Administrator Katy Kale, and the associate administrator for the office of small and disadvantaged business utilization, Exodie Roe. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sexual assault has been plaguing the military for decades, despite numerous reports and recommendations from military organizations and outside think tanks. The new independent review commission on sexual assault says it'll be different this time in bringing ideas to the Pentagon. Last week, the commission announced its members and took on criticism. Federal News Network's Scott Maucione has more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In response to the pandemic, a non-profit of business executives devoted to national security issues created a commission to examine how to improve federal emergency response. Their recommendations include broadening the definition of “disasters” to include pandemics and cyber incidents. Their President and CEO, retired CENTCOM Commander Gen. Joseph Votel, discussed these recommendations with the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Spending Oversight last week. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It wasn’t that long ago: Defense Department technology leadership believed it was too hard to weave multiple commercial clouds into a single enterprise service offering. But the Air Force has done it. In just its first year-and-a-half, the Air Force’s Cloud One project has managed to onboard five dozen systems into a cloud environment enabled by technologies from both Amazon and Microsoft. It’s now hosting more than 4-thousand terabytes of data, and growing every day. For why a multi-cloud approach is essential, Federal News Network's Jared Serbu spoke with the Air Force's chief software officer, Nicolas Chaillan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Things are busy for U.S. Customs and Border Protection these days. The fast pace means decision-making has to keep up. And one of the proven ways for managers to make better decisions is by arming them with actionable data. For a peek at how they do this at CBP Federal Drive with Tom Temin talked with Jay Visconti, the director of CBP's STAT Division. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Office of Personnel Management is the object of a long list of reform recommendations from the National Academy of Public Administration. What Congress will do with them is anyone's guess. Federal Drive with Tom Temin talked about it with American University Professor and NAPA fellow Bob Tobias. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Agencies improvised last year to expand telework and hire remote workers. Now more than a year into the pandemic, many want to keep those telework and remote work options for the long-haul. But old policies and pay systems don't necessarily support the new flexibilities. The Office of Personnel Management is reviewing those policies now. And it's planning new guidance to help support the agencies who want to make more permanent telework changes. For more, Federal News Network's Nicole Ogrysko spoke to Federal Drive with Tom Temin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After noting some big corruption enforcement cases, lawyers at one firm are telling clients, including federal contractors, to get ready for increased levels of investigations and enforcement. With why and how companies should prepare, Federal Drive with Tom Temin turned to Hogan Lovells partner Peter Spivack. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Talk about putting your eggs in one basket. The Department of Defense has been steadily spending more and more dollars with fewer and fewer prime contractors. Now the top brass and some members of Congress say they're worried about a weak supply chain to support the military. Federal Drive with Tom Temin welcomed Senior Bloomberg Reporter Travis Tritten, who has put all the numbers together. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Recovery from head injuries can be among the most difficult for veterans. Medical practitioners at the Veterans Health Administration's Center of Excellence in Palo Alto are acting on the idea that encouraging veterans to share their stories can help. They've teamed with the non-profit TeachAids to develop a project called the Crash Course Concussion Story Wall. For details, Federal Drive with Tom Temin's  Eric White spoke to professor of neurosurgery at the Palo Alto VA Health Care System, Dr. Odette Harris, and clinical assistant professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation/orthopedic surgery,  Dr. Molly Timmerman. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Federal agencies, and state and county agencies for that matter, often talk about providing good service to citizens. About being transparent. About being good stewards of taxpayer dollars. But how to they engender passion for public service in the first place? That's the subject of a new book by an old hand at public service and what makes it look. It's called Managing Organizations to Sustain Passion for Public Service. It's author, Indiana University emeritus professor of public and environmental affairs, James Perry. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Accidents kill twice as many soldiers as combat. At least, that's been the Defense Department's history between 2006 and 2018. Some of these accidents, like two high-profile collisions between Navy vessels that occurred in 2017, dredged up issues of training adequacy and work-life balances. The House Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness held a hearing to discover what changes the Armed Services have made to address these issues. Federal News Network's David Thornton joined the Federal Drive with more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you’re a military spouse in Maine and you’re a social worker, you probably can’t practice in California. Your license doesn't carry over. That issue leads to a lot of headaches and financial stress for relocating military families, and puts a hole in spouses’ resumes. The Defense Department is trying to ease that burden by giving grants to professional organizations to build licensure compacts among states. Federal News Network’s Scott Maucione spoke with Dan Logsdon, director of the Council of State Government’s National Center for Interstate Compacts, and with the director of DoD’s Defense-State Liaison Office, Marcus Beauregard. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

No one is yet sure how much money appropriated under the CARES Act last spring was expended on fraudulent loans. But for the second big chunk of business relief spending, enacted last week, the Small Business Administration has revised its procedures. My next guest has been watching carefully. He teaches national security at Georgetown University and is founder of Giant Oak Search Technology, Gary Shiffman. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices