Federal Drive with Tom Temin

Some solid career people are keeping the lights on at the Office of Federal Procurement Policy. But the Biden administration has so far given few signals about what it plans to do with federal procurement. For what we might expect to see, the Federal Drive turned to former OFPP administrator, now a partner at the law firm Akin Gump, Angela Styles. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With rival nations building up their navies, and in China's case getting a lot more aggressive, what should the United States's floating power look like? The Navy League recently released a long list of recommendations for maritime policy. Joining the Federal Drive with the highlights, the league's National Vice President of Military Affairs, Retired Navy Rear Admiral Sinclair Harris. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In conducting procurements on behalf of other agencies, the General Services Administration's Assisted Acquisition Service often turns to small business, specifically the Small Business Innovation Research program to get new technology into the government. For his work in this area, my next guest won a prize known as a Tibbets Award from the Small Business Administration. Rodney Couick is director of assisted acquisition services for GSA's great lakes region, Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Chief Data Officers Council is picking up steam, just a year after holding its first meeting. Its first update to Congress shows the council is standing up working groups focused on tackling the pandemic, and building data literacy in the federal workforce. The council sports a new website tracking its progress. For more on where the CDO Council, and the data officers themselves go from here, Federal News Network’s Jory Heckman spoke with Data Foundation President, Nick Hart. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If military readiness matters, listen up. The House Armed Services Readiness Subcommittee has a long agenda this year. From ensuring the military can operate in pandemic, to ongoing military housing problems. Now the ice storm in Texas brings up new challenges for the military, and the subcommittee wants to investigate them. Federal News Network’s Scott Maucione talks with Subcommittee Chairman, California Representative John Garamendi. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Federal programs sometimes live long after the events that inspired them. Remember the Troubled Asset Relief Program, TARP? It was launched as one of the responses to the housing financial crisis of 2008, near the end of the George W. Bush administration. Well TARP is still going. With an update, and what it's like to oversee something like this, the Federal Drive spoke to TARP special inspector general, Christy Goldsmith Romero. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

New buy-American rules in the Federal Acquisition Regulation took effect just after the Biden administration arrived. But they were developed during the Trump administration. The changes seem small, but they're significant. The Federal Drive got a few items to watch out for from procurement attorney Joseph Petrillo. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It takes a lot of commercial suppliers to keep Naval aviation going. Creative use of companies can enhance both the mission and the vendors. Senior technology program manager at the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Tony Brescia, has won a coveted prize from the Small Business Administration known as a Tibbetts Awards for his work in support of the Small Business Innovation Research, and the Small Business Technology Transfer programs. He joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin to discuss his work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Pentagon says it’s made major strides toward adding more accountability and oversight to the military’s privatized housing programs. Including the ones with rodents and mold. But keeping housing companies honest apparently comes at a cost. DoD says it will need to spend $120 million per year, year after year, to staff its new programs for inspection and oversight. Federal News Network’s Jared Serbu has more details on how the department plans to use those funds. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We turn to the Interior Department. With 10 bureaus and hundreds of locations, it can be tough to map out a career. Interior developed a tool to try to solve that problem about a year-and-a-half ago. It's called My DOI Career, and it's evolved since. The tool shows Interior employees what career paths are possible and what steps they might take to reach a professional goal. Scott Cameron was Interior's principal deputy assistant director for policy, management and budget during the Trump administration. He tells Federal News Network's Nicole Ogrysko how My DOI Career came to be, and where it's headed. You'll also hear from Robyn Rees, a senior adviser for workforce trends at Interior. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Department of Veterans Affairs has a statutory responsibility to offer networks of health care providers outside of its own system. But there's a flaw in the contracts with network operators of the Veterans Community Care Program. Here with what need fixing, the Director of health care issues at the Government Accountability Office, Sharon Silas spoke to Federal Drive with Tom Temin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Army, following a class action lawsuit, recently agreed to review less-than-honorable discharges for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans with post traumatic stress disorder and other conditions. Now the group that brought that suit has brought two suits challenging disability retirement benefits for sailors and Marines. Federal Drive with Tom Temin got the latest from the Executive Director of the National Veterans Legal Services Program, Bart Stichman. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Federal employees, pandemic, and telework - the phenomenon has become legend. Most of the attention has been on the executive branch. Over on Capitol Hill, members of Congress have improvised ways of working, including virtual hearings. But what about the 30,000-odd congressional staff members? For how they're faring, Federal Drive with Tom Temin checked in with the executive director of the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights, Susan Tsui Grundmann. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Three-hundred, 600, maybe 100,000 - no one really knows just how many pilot efforts are happening across the Defense Department that are using artificial intelligence, machine learning and intelligence automation. The Pentagon is facing a tipping point for artificial intelligence sprawl. In his weekly feature, the Reporter's Notebook, executive editor Jason Miller wrote about how the Defense Department's Joint AI Center, or JAIC, is trying to nip that AI-sprawl in the bud by reimaging its mission. Jason joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin to discuss. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A highly critical and visible modernization program crossing three departments has a long way to go. Planners say the new electronic health record will bring integration between the Defense Department and the Department of Veterans Affairs health care systems. Progress has been slowed by the pandemic as well as by bugs in the systems themselves. For this and other developments in DoD, Federal Drive with Tom Temin turned to reporters Jared Serbu and Scott Maucione. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices