Federal Drive with Tom Temin

Foreign policy shifts back and forth from administration to administration, sometimes violently. And recently, domestic events must make the U.S., to foreign eyes, look something like a banana republic. So how do the diplomats manage to convey stability of the world's oldest republic? We check in with the president of the American Foreign Service Association, ambassador Eric Rubin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For federal agency technology people, cloud computing seems to be, be there or be square. Despite all its virtues, getting to the cloud can be a challenge. But there's help. Such as the General Services Administration's Technology Transformation Service. With more, the TTS director of cloud adoption, Calvert Smith. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Consensus is growing around a series of recommendations that the government can implement to help safeguard both the public and private sectors against major cyberattacks. In the wake of the SolarWinds breach, lawmakers turned to industry for recommendations on how to ensure that kind of incident doesn’t happen again. More from Federal News Network's David Thornton. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In funding everything else in sight, the Congress hasn't left out federal contractors. So far in the big stimulus bill, contractors got an extension of section 3610, which gives them a sort of ongoing protection from the pandemic. With why this matters, the president and CEO of the professional services Council, David Berteau. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Serving in the federal government comes with specific ethical requirements, whether you're the president or a GS-2. My next guest, Walter Shaub led the Office of Government Ethics for several years. Now he's joined an external gadfly, the Project on Government Oversight, where he's leading a new Ethics and Accountability initiative. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My next guest ran the National Institute of Standards and Technology during the Trump administration. He's had long experience in research both corporate and governmental. Joining the Federal Drive with what he's up to now, Dr. Walter Copan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The chairman of the House Armed Services Committee is sending a strong signal, namely that the Pentagon can expect a flat budget next year. At least Adam Smith thinks he can make that case to Congress after four years of rising budgets. Details are in this week's DOD Reporters Notebook with Federal News Network's Jared Serbu and Scott Maucione. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hold on to your hats, the Senate had a breakthrough. After almost two decades of tepid support for significant IT modernization funding, the upper chamber approved a cool billion dollars for the Technology Modernization Fund when it passed the American Rescue Plan. In his weekly Reporter's Notebook, executive editor Jason Miller writes about how the momentum to fund IT modernization built up over the past week. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Once they're past the extra-spending bill that includes pandemic relief, Congress could start to regard the regular old budget. You know, the stuff that keeps your agency going. The Federal Drive got the latest from Bloomberg Government congress reporter Jack Fitzpatrick. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Robotic process automation requires robots, in this case, software applications that do things people would rather not. A unit at Hansom Air Force Base, Massachusetts, is running a challenge competition to come up with bots with the potential to speed up procurement and acquisition. Joining the Federal Drive with the details, enterprise cloud services materiel leader, Lt. Col. Todd Watson. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Coast Guard is in the midst of updating lots of things, its fleet of ships and cutters, its health records system. Coasties are also part way through an overhaul of business practices and the supporting financial management system. For an update the Federal Drive turned to the Coast Guard's chief financial officer, Rear Admiral Mark Fedor. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Office of Personnel Management is urging agencies to revisit, revise and reengage with federal employee unions over former President Donald Trump's 20-18 executive orders. The guidance was highly anticipated for many federal employee unions. It gives agencies specific instructions on how they should implement an executive order President Biden signed on his third day in office. Federal News Network's Nicole Ogrysko joined the Federal Drive to explain what's next for agencies and unions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Biden a couple of weeks ago promised that the latest big spending bill, which includes some pandemic relief, would better reach small businesses with loans than earlier legislation. For one look at whether small businesses, and especially minority owned ones, have benefitted so far, the Federal Drive turned to Creative Investment Research economist and principal, William Michael Cunningham. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One thing you can say about working for the IRS, it's been exciting. Now the agency's Professional Managers Association has a new roster of leadership to take on a second filing season weirded out by the pandemic. Joining the Federal Drive with a look ahead, the association's new executive director, Chad Hooper. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Library of Congress has chosen an academic librarian to come to Washington to head up its Research and Reference Service Division. I was wondering what this job does and why it matters, and I thought you would too. So the Federal Drive spoke to it's new chief, Dennis Clark. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices