Federal Drive with Tom Temin

Agencies are getting better at managing their enterprise risks. That is maybe the most important and most expected takeaway from the latest survey by the Association of Federal Enterprise Risk Management. For some common factors that make a risk management program successful, executive editor Jason Miller spoke with David Fisher, the former Chief Risk Officer of the IRS who now leads the Risk Consulting practice at Guidehouse. And with the president-elect of the Association of Federal Enterprise Risk Management and the Chief Risk Officer at the Bureau of the Fiscal Service, Nicole Puri. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

People of the Foreign Service, and the families they bring with them, put a face to the State Department's overseas mission. They also participate in off-the-clock acts of kindness. For these efforts, the agency has awarded seven individuals its Secretary of State Award for Outstanding Volunteerism Abroad. For more on this volunteer work, Federal News Network’s Jory Heckman spoke with a Foreign Service spouse who worked with special needs children in Malaysia, Jane Thompson. And, the whom you hear first, from another award recipient, Foreign Service Officer Moises Mendoza. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When the General Services Administration released transition funding for the incoming Biden administration, it included a little note. That money, like all other federal appropriations, is coming from a continuing resolution which expires in less than two weeks. So Congress, which returns today, has some no-foolin' work to do. The Federal Drive got the latest from Bloomberg Government editorial director Loren Duggan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A lesser known function of the Defense Department provides advisors or coaches to friendly foreign militaries. The Ministry of Defense Advisors Program goes back a few years to the surge in Afghanistan. Now it has advisors embedded around the globe. Joining the Federal Drive with more on the program, the chief of the institutional capacity building division of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, Laura Alami. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The bipartisan Election Assistance Commission has been advising local election officials on how to meet the requirements of the Help America Vote Act, to ensure vote access and sound systems for handling ballots. We spoke to my next guest back in April, when the 2020 election seemed a ways off. Now that's its over, the Federal Drive checked in again with the chairman of the Election Assistance Commission, Ben Hovland. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A major milestone for what the Air Force likes to call the “internet of military things.” The Advanced Battle Management System transitioned to a formal program office last week. And officials say it’s likely to start delivering real-world capabilities on existing military platforms as soon as next year. Federal News Network’s Jared Serbu has details on what the service has accomplished in the past year and a half of architectural design for ABMS. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you’re a military service member you probably won't be home for Christmas. The spike in coronavirus cases has bases issuing new restrictions, as COVID cases among service members hit new records. Federal News Network’s Scott Maucione joined the Federal Drive with the latest. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Like the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Indian Health Service - part of the Interior Department - operates a nationwide network of health care facilities. Now an audit by the Government Accountability Office has found some gaps in the oversight of the spending and operations of IHS facilities. Director in the health care team at the GAO, Jessica Farb, had the findings on Federal Drive with Tom Temin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An old lesson had a new airing when a contractor challenged the set-up of a blanket purchasing agreement. The General Services Administration wanted to use a system of highest-technically ranked, and reasonable pricing for awarding equipment deals under the federal supply schedules. That's a no-no, as we hear from procurement attorney Joseph Petrillo of Petrillo and Powell. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The IRS, while gearing up for next year’s tax filing season, is still wrapping up the last one. The agency has millions of 2020 tax returns it still needs to sort out, plus those millions of pieces of mail that piled up while everyone was teleworking. The agency is also behind schedule on its latest IT modernization effort, the cost of which is now more than double what the agency first projected. Federal News Network's Jory Heckman had more on Federal Drive with Tom Temin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency is just about a year old. The Defense Security Service and the National Background Investigations Bureau merged into one agency last October. And DCSA has gotten bigger since then. It took over some key IT systems and absorbed a few other Defense Department entities a month ago - all while the pandemic has slightly shifted the way DCSA handles background investigations during a pandemic. Federal News Network's Nicole Ogrysko joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin to explain. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The pandemic has scrambled operations of Congress no less than any other governmental entity. Members have had online hearings and meetings by the thousands. But the only remote voting allowed was by proxy. Now the House administration committee has confirmed that a technology for secure, full remote voting exists. One person urging this move for a long time is the policy director at Demand Progress. Daniel Schuman joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin to talk more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the tumultuous 2020 reaches its final phase, contractors can expect some things to have changed for good, and the return of some of the old shibboleths. Joining the Federal Drive with a list of what to expect, federal sales and marketing consultant Larry Allen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At 245 years old, the Army remains a fundamental unit of national security. But it must modernize, too many changes in technology and in the world threat situation. Analysis by the Center for Strategic and International Studies says the Army will have a hard time maintaining its basic state and modernizing under very real budget constraints. The Federal Drive got more from CSIS senior adviser and principal study author, Mark Cancian. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Federal entities across the board have been striving to adopt and become skilled in the art of artificial intelligence. Now the Congressionally-mandated National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence, a creature of the 2019 Defense Authorization law, is seeking input from small and medium sized businesses. With more about what the commission is up to, the Federal Drive turned to commission member the former assistant secretary of defense for acquisition, Katharina McFarland. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices