Federal Drive with Tom Temin

The Postal Service is scaling back the number of next-generation delivery vehicles it’s committed to purchasing, but is setting a higher bar for the minimum number of electric vehicles it will buy. USPS announced Wednesday that it will, for now, only plan to buy the 50,000 next-generation delivery vehicles (NGDVs) it ordered in March, the minimum outlined in its contract with Oshkosh Defense. The agency, however, now ensures that no less than 50% of those custom-built vehicles will be electric vehicles. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Senate this week will continue debating the so-called Chips Bill that would heavily subsidize the semiconductor industry. But thanks to a flurry of amendments, the bill has grown and grown. The National Science Foundation and the Commerce Department would get tens of billions of new dollars. To find out what to expect about that and other important happenings on Capitol Hill this week, Federal Drive host Tom Temin talked with Bloomberg Government deputy news director Loren Duggan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Most people -- but not everyone -- might have forgotten about the COVID-vaccine-mandate for federal employees. Those against the mandate are still battling in court and the next appeal isn't until September. To sort out what's going on and what agency management might do, Federal Drive host Tom Temin talked with attorney Stephanie Rapp-Tully, a partner at Tully-Rinckey. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Large and heavy as they might be, the Navy's ships are affected by weather. Operations and planning depend on knowing what the weather will bring. Federal Drive host Tom Temin begins his first in a series of interviews exploring the mission of the Fleet Weather Center in Norfolk, Virginia. Captain His first guest: Erin Acosta, the center's commanding officer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Air Force is in the midst of a series of hackathons, but not the sort the federal government has started to get used to. Instead of trying to find and fix holes in the cybersecurity apparatus, they’re trying to figure out what’s possible if the security rules are relaxed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While the world of work struggles with in-person or on-line questions, consider this: Groups generate more and better quality ideas when they meet in person, then when they meet on a video conference platform. That's according to research by the Columbia Business School in an experiment with 1,500 engineers. Does that mean you've got to haul it back into the office every day? Not so fast, according to Bob Tobias, a professor in the Key Executive Leadership Program at American University. Tobias talked about the study, in studio, with Federal Drive host Tom Temin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Love it or hate it, regulation is one of the most common activities federal agencies undertake. Rule-making itself is among the most rule-bound processes, both to keep it under control and to ensure everyone's voice is taken into account. Now a study, under the auspices of the National Academy of Public Administration, offers ways the regulatory process can become more agile. Federal Drive host Tom Temin talked about this with NAPA fellow Michael Fitzpatrick. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Recently, Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia Beach hosted a graduation ceremony for eight interns who were part of Project SEARCH. It's the first year for this innovative program, which connects high school students with intellectual and developmental disabilities to internships and on-the-job training. To learn more, Federal News Network's Eric White spoke with Jan Varney, who is an Instructional Specialist for the Virginia Beach City Public Schools’ Office of Programs for Exceptional Children and coordinator for Project SEARCH. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The federal government collects myriad forms of demographic data, but it could do more around sexual orientation and gender identities. In line with his administration’s broader diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility goals President Joe Biden is directing agencies to see where they can expand collection of LGBTQ data. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Department of Veterans Affairs is postponing the go-live for its new Electronic Health Record at yet another site, as Congress intensifies its scrutiny of the rollout. Secretary Denis McDonough told reporters in a press conference Wednesday that the agency will not go live with its Oracle-Cerner EHR in Boise, Idaho on July 23 as planned. There are no other scheduled EHR deployments for the rest of fiscal 2022. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Office of Personnel Management has yet to release regulations that would encourage agencies to stop asking about job applicants' salary histories. Some advocacy groups say agencies don't need to wait for OPM. The idea behind not asking, is that it would help close the purported government-private pay gap, a goal of OPM’s strategic plan. Federal News Network’s Drew Friedman is covering this story and talked about it with Federal Drive host Tom Temin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Intelligence agencies are increasing telework options and other workplace flexibilities in some cases, as they look to better compete with the private sector for scarce talent. Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines said the intelligence community is looking at ways to make workplaces “more flexible and appealing.” During a keynote address at a July 14 summit hosted by the Intelligence and National Security Alliance, Haines cast those efforts as part of a broader push to overcome diversity, equity and inclusion challenges within the intelligence community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Federal employees, no less than people in other occupations, sometimes have to deal with pain resulting from injuries. In recent years, many of them have become addicted to opioids. Thanks to the work of my next guest, over the past five years the number of federal employees using opioids has dropped by 58%. For his work, he's a finalist in this year's Service to America Medals program. Antonio Rios, the division director of Federal Employees', Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation at the Department of Labor, talked with Federal Drive host Tom Temin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Even as the nation still digests the findings of the 2020 count of the U.S. population, the Census bureau is looking towards 2030 and modernizing the other products it produces more frequently. It recently released its strategic plan for now to 2026. Federal Drive host Tom Temin talked about some of the highlights with Census Bureau Director Robert Santos. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Labor Department wants feedback on its first-ever Enterprise Data Strategy … a three-year effort to get more value from the data it generates. Labor officials hope to add staff with data talent and modernize systems that house data. For more, Federal News Network’s Jory Heckman spoke with two people: Labor’s Chief Data Officer Scott Gibbons and Chief Innovation Officer Chike Aguh. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices