Federal Drive with Tom Temin

Defense contractors are or should be busy putting together self-assessments of their cybersecurity. Under the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program, those self-assessments are due at the end of the month. The question is how the government will use them. For more, we turn to CMMC expert, and Rogers-Joseph-O'Donnell partner Bob Metzger. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Both houses of Congress are working this week. They've got internal housekeeping items to attend to, but also some bills critical to keep the government functioning. Here with a look at the week ahead, Bloomberg Government Editorial Director Loren Duggan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Having just finished a multi-year revision of what you might call the bible of cybersecurity controls, there's something new. The National Institute of Standards and Technology cybersecurity crew has a new, companion guide. With an update, NIST Fellow Ron Ross. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Secure Act drove federal taxes and tax law deeper into the lives of those other than spouses who inherit the wealth you leave behind. It made estate planning more crucial than ever. And don't wait until you're at death's door. Here with a few pointers, the Director of Wealth Management at the Government Employees Benefit Association, Greg Klingler. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The speculation over President-Elect Joe Biden's federal workforce agenda has already begun. Federal employee unions have especially high hopes for the incoming administration. But current and former labor leaders say the president-elect has to do more than repeal a few executive orders. And others in the federal community say the president-elect has plenty to learn from his predecessors when it comes to managing the federal workforce. Federal News Network's Nicole Ogrysko joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin for more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The military is trying to get all of its systems and decision makers working together at high speed. Their system for doing so is called the Joint All-Domain Command and Control program (JADC2). But the collection and managing of data is making all that interconnectivity difficult. Now the Defense Department offices want to throw more money at it. Federal News Network’s Scott Maucione had the latest on Federal Drive with Tom Temin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Congress could still take up some sort of pandemic relief bill in the lame duck session. The Senate has been pondering a new payroll protection plan worth more than $250 billion. Tim Stretton argues before they do, Congress really needs to put in some more robust mechanisms for transparency, and to prevent waste, fraud and abuse. The policy analyst from the Project on Government Oversight joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Since the advent of the pandemic, whistleblowers have called out employers throughout the country. Many of the whistleblowers complained of retaliation to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. But OSHA resolved only a tiny fraction of the retaliation complaints, according to my next guest. For details, the director of the worker health and safety program at the National Employment Law Project, Debbie Berkowitz. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When your agency spends more than 90% of all its available dollars on grants and acquisitions, you better be good at it. At NASA, well, they try hard. Now the Office of Inspector General has taken a look at a NASA project to train and upgrade its acquisition staff. For what it found, we turn to project manager Deanna Lee. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nearly a year after the governmentwide Chief Data Officers Council held its first meeting, members of the council are looking to move agencies beyond so called quick wins in favor of building stronger data literacy from the top-down. CDOs say they’re looking at developing new workforce skills, and fostering easier interagency data-sharing. Federal News Network’s Jory Heckman had more on Federal Drive with Tom Temin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President-Elect Joe Biden will have some different takes on policy than President Donald Trump, no surprise there. That will be especially true for the Defense Department. Defense analysts and former Obama administration officials have already started weighing in on what might be different for the military under President Biden. Federal News Network's Scott Maucione joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin for more details. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

House and Senate lawmakers and the fiscal 2021 spending bills are coming down hard on the shared services effort to modernize payroll services. Senate Appropriations Committee members would cut all funding for that NewPay initiative. At the same time both houses are supporting the Labor Department's internal shared services efforts. Legislators would give them more than $25 million to further consolidate technology services through its working capital fund. For more on Labor's plan, Federal News Network Executive Editor Jason Miller spoke to the Labor Department's enterprisewide shared services Program Manager Maylin Jue. Hear more on Federal Drive with Tom Temin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A new bipartisan caucus in the House has dedicated itself to supporting the sixth and newest armed service: The U.S. Space Force. Caucus member and Texas Republican Brian Babin joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin to talk about some of the issues the caucus plans to work on. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Army has chosen today, Veterans Day, to open a museum of the U.S. Army. Not reopen, as in pandemic, but cut the ribbon to a stunning new facility at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. Here with the highlights, the museum's Chief of Exhibits Paul Morando, and Sgt. James Akinola, visiting soldier and the Army's soldier of the year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Federal procurement has always been about more than getting the right products at the right price. It can be an instrument of national security, or for promoting social policy. On that point, Isabelle Glimcher has published work on how procurement can be a stronger lever for international human rights. The New York University Stern Center for Business and Human Rights fellow joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin for more discussion. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices