Federal Drive with Tom Temin

When the Biden Justice Department sued Booz Allen on antitrust grounds over Booz's acquisition of EverWatch, it sent a signal. The federal contracting class of companies isn't exempt from an aggressive anti-trust stance. Justice said the acquisition would combine the only two competitors in certain support services for national security. Joining the Federal Drive with the industry's reaction, the CEO of the Professional Services Council, David Berteau. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The early days of the COVID pandemic were chaotic, you might say. Health and Human Services was as busy as any agency. Among its tasks, ensuring unaccompanied children taken in at U.S. borders were kept in environments safe from the disease. How did the agency do? To find out, Federal News Network's Eric White spoke with HHS Assistant Regional Inspector General, Sylvie Witten. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Law clerks form an largely unseen network of support for the Judiciary branch of government. My next guest says clerks lack protection from, and the means to redress, harassment and discrimination. Sometimes it's judges that do the harassing and discriminating. For more, the president and co-founder of the Legal Accountability Project, Aliza Shatzman. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There's a new unwritten rule at the Homeland Security Department: Don’t use the word pilot or demonstration program in public or in official documents. This is because Congress inserted new language that requires DHS to report on nearly all pilot programs, before they kick off. In his weekly Reporter's Notebook, executive editor Jason Miller writes about this provision that seems to have surprised DHS. Jason joined the Federal Drive to discuss. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There's a new unwritten rule at the Homeland Security Department: Don’t use the word pilot or demonstration program in public or in official documents. This is because Congress inserted new language that requires DHS to report on nearly all pilot programs, before they kick off. In his weekly Reporter's Notebook, executive editor Jason Miller writes about this provision that seems to have surprised DHS. Jason joined the Federal Drive to discuss. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The idea for a Space National Guard has gone back and forth since before the conception of the Space Force itself. Now, once again, the National Guard is advocating for a new component to handle capabilities outside of the earth’s atmosphere. Federal News Network’s Scott Maucione joined the Federal Drive with the latest. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gun regulations, inflation, and abortion may be at the forefront of talking points for members of Congress recently, but there is work to be done. Coming back from recess there are funding measures, nominations, and major legislation packages that will need to be dealt with. To give us a preview of what's in store, the Federal Drive spoke with Bloomberg Government Congressional Reporter Zach Cohen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You've probably heard by now the Biden administration has made it an objective to decarbonize federal operations in the near future. One of the initiatives from the Energy Department to try and make that happen is a $6 million award to certain national laboratories to expand the use of geothermal heating and cooling at federal sites. To learn more about this plan and just how much this technology could help the White House reach its goal, the Federal Drive spoke to Dr. Alexis McKittrick, she's DOE's Geothermal Technology Office's Program Manager. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My next guest has what might be one of the most consequential federal jobs of all. No, not cabinet secretary or tax commissioner. He's the new director of the National Weather Service, and he came up through the ranks as a meteorologist and forecaster. Kenneth Graham joined Federal News Network Tom Temin to discuss his path to this new role. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The federal government has been meeting its overall goals for awarding contracts to small businesses, but it’s falling short with those qualifying for socioeconomic set-asides. It regularly misses its targets for women-owned, service-disabled veteran-owned, and HUBzone small businesses. And it’s pool of small business contractors is shrinking. But the Small Business Administration told the House Small business committee in a recent hearing that it’s looking to turn that around. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Health care staffing shortages at the Veteran Affairs Department are back on the rise after years of progress. The VA’s inspector general finds more than 2,600 severe staffing shortages for 285 occupations across the Veterans Health Administration nationwide. It’s the first uptick in staffing shortages in recent years, and an indication that the COVID-19 pandemic continues to take a toll on its workforce. For an update, Federal News Network’s Jory Heckman has more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Want to give your career a kick in the pants? Get with the movement toward expertise in artificial intelligence, data management and digital innovation? Carnegie Mellon University has developed a course just for federal employees who want to learn these fields and maybe switch or upgrade their careers. Federal Drive host Tom Temin talks about it with Carnegie associate dean Jackie Speedy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The subject of disabilities can seem abstract to people who are fully abled. This interviewee was fully abled until one day...he wasn't. After a difficult, two-year process of reinvention, he's now on his way to becoming a commissioned foreign service officer at the State Department. Collin Walsh talked with Federal Drive host Tom Temin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As backlogs for Freedom of Information Act requests grew during the pandemic, some agencies found success limiting processing times. Now, those agencies are offering best practices to improve the public information request process and make it easier for records custodians to calculate estimated dates of completion (EDCs). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As backlogs for Freedom of Information Act requests grew during the pandemic, some agencies found success limiting processing times. Now, those agencies are offering best practices to improve the public information request process and make it easier for records custodians to calculate estimated dates of completion (EDCs). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices