Federal Drive with Tom Temin

Another year, another milestone for the Merit Systems Protection Board. Not necessarily the good kind. It marked its fourth straight year without a quorum. And the backlog of pending petitions for review sits at more than three-thousand. Federal employment attorneys are optimistic the incoming administration will nominate new members to staff the board. But the process of addressing the backlog may be time-consuming, and expensive. Federal News Network's Nicole Ogrysko joined the Federal Drive with more Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last month a Congressionally-mandated study commission confirmed what many sensed. That military aviation training accidents are on the rise. In a five year period, more than six thousand accidents killed 198 service members. Joining the Federal Drive with analysis, Project on Government Oversight national security reporter Jason Paladino. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Federal agencies, and there are several of them, affected by the Solar Winds cybersecurity fiasco are under a new deadline. Days-ago policy from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency gives them to the end of the month to complete forensic analysis and harden their systems. My next guest questions whether this will be possible. He's the former vice chairman of the DHS coordinating council, now the chief information security officer at CI security, Michael Hamilton. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joe Biden has picked former White House chief of staff Denis McDonough to become the next Veterans Affairs Secretary. For what challenges McDonough is likely to face and how to deal with them, the Federal Drive turned to former secretary Dr. David Shulkin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Trump administration is inching along with its efforts to modernize the decades-old security clearance system. The Office of Personnel Management recently published what it's calling a federal personnel vetting core doctrine. The doctrine explains the administration's philosophy behind planned efforts to modernize the credentialing, suitability and security clearance process. Federal News Network's Nicole Ogrysko joined the Federal Drive now to explain what's in the doctrine and why it's important. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If confirmed, former Army General Lloyd Austin will be the second recently-retired uniformed official in five years to hold the top position in the Pentagon. That concerns some lawmakers and military-watchers, alike, who worry this could erode civilian authority in the Defense Department. Yet when it comes to granting a waiver for Austin’s confirmation, it seems like few senators will vote against it. Federal News Network’s Scott Maucione spoke to the Federal Drive with more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The IRS is rolling out a second wave of pandemic stimulus payments to millions of households and building on the lessons learned from the first wave. That includes greater access to the Social Security Administration’s Death Master File to reduce the risk of improper payments. But the IRS is also counting down to the start of this year’s tax filing season. For a closer look at a busy year for the IRS Federal News Network’s Jory Heckman spoke with the executive director of a group that represents many IRS employees, the Professional Managers Association's Chad Hooper. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Any federal IT practitioner who can fog a mirror is thinking about cybersecurity these days, or should be. In reviewing 15 large software development programs underway in the Defense Department, congressional auditors found that cyber concerns have the potential to stretch out projects or boost costs. Here with highlights, director of the information technology and cybersecurity team at the Government Accountability Office, Kevin Walsh. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

NASA recently awarded 17 small companies more than $14 million to keep developing promising new technologies. They're already shown promising results in the first round of funding. With the latest on NASA's and Small Business Technology Transfer and Small Business Innovation Research programs, Federal Drive with Tom Temin turned to the acting program executive Gynelle Steele. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The office of DoD’s chief management officer officially ceased to exist on Jan. 1. And the Pentagon isn’t wasting any time deciding how to replace the CMO’s functions. A pair of memos the deputy defense secretary signed this week make several changes to DoD’s organizational chart. One of the biggest takeaways: The already-powerful DoD comptroller’s office is about to get even more powerful. Federal News Network’s Jared Serbu has been covering the demise of the CMO, and he joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin for the latest details. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Federal spending never stops rising, and that's certainly true of contracts spending. The pandemic has accelerated contract spending in several categories. For some of the trends that will continue into 2021 and the Biden administration, Federal Drive with Tom Temin turned to the director of government contracts at Bloomberg Government Dan Snyder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The government couldn't function for very long without contractors. Does that mean contractor employees, or at least certain ones, ought to be eligible for COVID vaccines? For one view, 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

NASA looks down from space. Farmers grow things upward from the earth. Now NASA and the Agriculture Department have inked an agreement to deepen cooperative efforts in research on agricultural production, conservation and food security. Here with details, NASA's acting associate administrator for international and interagency relations, Mike Gold. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Among the many questions following last week's mass break-in at the Capitol building are … what went wrong with the capitol hill police and whether the incident has national security implications. For what he's planning to look at, the Federal Drive spoke with the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, Mississippi Representative Bennie Thompson. We started with his personal experience during the seemingly cataclysmic event. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Pentagon wants to let contractors in on a little secret. Possible lots of secrets. It's part of a plan to give contractors knowledge they might need to help tailor products more closely to defense requirements. Joining the Federal Drive with details of the gambit, Federal News Network's Scott Maucione. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices