Federal Drive with Tom Temin

Denis McDonough has been on the job as Veterans Affairs secretary for two weeks. So far he's still learning the ropes and getting to know the employees. This comes as federal employee unions are especially eager to see some big changes when it comes to the workforce, labor relations and collective bargaining. Meantime, the Biden administration has new director in mind to lead the Office of Personnel Management. Federal News Network's Nicole Ogrysko joins me now to talk about it all. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How do you get a nation vaccinated when double-digit percentages of frontline health care workers turn down the chance for a shot? One leading practitioner said the Biden administration needs to radically change the way the government communicates about the vaccine. Federal Drive with Tom Temin spoke to the President of the Western University for Health Sciences, Dr. Daniel Wilson, for more insight. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you think federal accounting is dull and unchanging, think again. People who do federal accounting and finance say it's a constantly moving field that requires ongoing training. For more about where they can get that training and education, Federal Drive with Tom Temin spoke to the CEO of the Association of Government Accountants, Ann Ebberts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A longstanding partnership among the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the MITRE Corporation and several car makers is about to expand. The program, called the Partnership for Analytics Research in Traffic Safety, or PARTS, is greatly expanding the datasets it uses in research. The Chief Engineer for Transportation Safety at MITRE, Chris Hill, joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin for the details. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Freedom of Information Act requests are on the rise. Rising faster are instances of federal agencies turning them down. Turns out, they've got quite a few perfectly legal reasons for stamping "Sorry, no dice" on FOIA requests. For a review, Federal Drive with Tom Temin turned to the Director of Strategic Issues at the Government Accountability Office, Michelle Sager. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A form of contracting known as lowest-price, technically acceptable, or LPTA, has long bugged federal contractors. Defense authorization legislation, and subsequent updates to the Federal Acquisition Regulations, were supposed to limit agency use of LPTA. But contractors say they're seeing a resurgence. For more, the Federal Drive turned to the president and CEO of the Professional Services Council, David Berteau. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A year in, and government at all levels are assessing how they've responded, to the pandemic, that is, and what innovations they might want to keep, and not let fade away. The IBM Center for the Business of Government has put together a series of essays that examine the lessons learned and the innovation success. Here with some of the findings, leadership fellow Michael Keegan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Besides being the biggest health care delivery organization in the country, the Veterans Health Administration is also one of the biggest medical research organizations. For how it goes about the business of research involving human subjects, we turn to the Director of Office of Research Protections, Policy, and Education. Dr. Molly Klote. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The deep freeze that nearly took out Texas has sent a chill up the spines of the armed services brass and of Congress. The widespread paralysis was a reminder of what could happen to military installations. Now there's a new push on Capitol Hill to make military bases more energy independent. Part of this week's DOD Reporters Notebook with Scott Maucione and Jared Serbu. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today's Federal Newscast, For the third time in five years, a court decision is opening the door to major changes to multiple award contracts. The Court of Federal Claims weighed on the controversial “rule of two” requirement originally intended to help promote small business contracting, but now is causing concern and confusion for how agencies should apply it to multiple award contracts. In his weekly Reporter's Notebook, executive editor Jason Miller writes about why this court decision is worrying some federal procurement experts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brian Goodger, the program manager for CIO-SP4 and acting director of NITAAC, details timing, evaluation plans for $40B IT services contract SP4 and acting director of NITAAC, said the final solicitation for the health IT services governmwentwide acquisition contract should be out mid-to-late March. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From Postal reform, yes, that one again, to revitalizing the federal workforce, yes, that one again, the House will be holding hearings and looking anew at some nagging topics. Joining the Federal Drive with what to look for in the week ahead, Bloomberg Government Editorial Director Loren Duggan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You might have heard. Government agencies have been trying to modernize themselves from a technology and services standpoint. They need the right talent to do so. But my next guest argues, the newest graduates with the needed skills don't really have a way into government, so they go to industry instead. For more, The Federal Drive spoke to the executive Director of the Beeck, Center for Social Impact and Innovation at Georgetown University, Cori Zarek. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Federal Aviation Administration is looking for potential grantees to help develop a larger and more diverse pool of pilots and aviation maintenance technicians. Joining the Federal Drive with details of the funding opportunity and what it's trying to do, FAA Administrator Steve Dickson. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Technology vendors, sharpen your pencils, the next great governmentwide acquisition contract is weeks away from dropping. It's called CIO-SP4, and it's coming from the NIH IT Acquisition and Assessment Center, NITAAC. It'll have a $40 billion ceiling, and award spots to as many as 400 large and small contractors. Brian Goodger is the program manager for CIO-SP4 and acting director of the NIH IT Acquisition and Assessment Center or NITAAC. Federal News Network executive editor Jason Miller spoke to him about what vendors should expect in the next year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices