Federal Drive with Tom Temin

Two story lines you should be following in federal acquisition: The CIA’s next-generation cloud contract seems ready for primetime. And, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s runs a governmentwide shared service, that's now facing its first big challenge. In his weekly Reporter's notebook, Executive editor Jason Miller breaks the news about the CIA's multi-billion cloud contract award. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Like a paper mache ghost swinging from a branch, Congress is pretty much going nowhere in the next couple of weeks. You might say nothing good or bad can happen. But there is the question of the budget. And the National Defense Authorization Act. For what's immediately ahead, the Federal Drive turned to Bloomberg Government Editorial Director Loren Duggan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Securities and Exchange Commission has channeled millions of dollars in fraud settlements to corporate whistleblowers who singled out wrongdoing in the first place. But proposed rule changes would limit those payouts, seeming to disincentivize the very whistleblowers the SEC relies on. For insight into what's going on, the Federal Drive turn to Steptoe and Johnson law firm partner, and co-chair of its financial services group, Stacie Hartman. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Despite its reputation for operating old systems, the IRS is also a leader in new technology deployment and modernization. In conjunction with the non-profit Advanced Technology Academic Research Center, or ATARC, the IRS recently hosted a Technology Day to describe how they're updating systems and business operations. The Federal Drive spoke with the co-director of the Enterprise Digitalization and Case Management Office, Harrison Smith, and the IRS chief procurement officer, Shanna Webbers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Agencies early in the coronavirus pandemic scrambled to scale up their IT systems to handle mass telework and the secure access it required. Now November has arrived, and the National Institutes of Health is working just fine with about 20% of its workforce coming into the office. For a progress report, Federal News Network’s Jory Heckman spoke with the agency’s manager of identity and access management services, Jeff Erikson. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Coronavirus has thrown a wrench into everybody's plans. The Army is no exception. Still, the Army was able to reach its end strength goals for 2020, after a few hiccups and some revisements. Federal News Network’s Scott Maucione joined the Federal Drive with Tom Temin to explain the Army’s new normal in training and recruiting. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ever since the first magnetometers in the 1970s, airport authorities have sought better ways to see if people are hiding weapons or contraband. In recent years the old methods have give way to imaging. Now the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory is working with the Transportation Security Administration to perfect imaging systems passengers can simply walk right through, potentially eliminating lines, scanners and pat-downs. Here with more on the technology, physics lab program manager Chris Thompson, and lead engineer Shayne Gerber. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Defense Department's data strategy, release just a few weeks ago, says improving data management will help it fight and win wars. It says artificial intelligence will become an important component of data-fueled, digital modernization. Joining the Federal Drive with an assessment, the CEO of data analysis company Govini, Tara Murphy Dougherty. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

They're smart. They're idealistic. They want to help. But they've only got a year. They're the latest class of Presidential Innovation Fellows, nearly three dozen technology practitioners and entrepreneurs just assigned to agencies across the government to help with modernizing and deploying new digital services. Joining the Federal Drive with more about the program, its executive director Josh Di Frances. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Most agencies will happily tell you how their organizations successfully pivoted to telework during the pandemic. The vast majority of the federal workforce has been teleworking since March. And there's no end in sight. Now some agencies are embracing the next frontier of remote work. They're starting to consider new hires who can work remotely from anywhere. And they see plenty of benefits to this new kind of recruiting approach. More from Federal News Network's Nicole Ogrysko. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Soldiers and Army civilians duked it out this week to make their inventions the winner of the Dragon Innovation Challenge. The contest worked much like the famous TV show Shark Tank. Contestants submitted innovations that could improve Army ranges and land use. Federal News Network’s Scott Maucione spoke with the winner of the challenge, Maj. Evan Adams, and one of the panelists, Master Sgt. Roy Smith. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Condemnation of the Trump administration executive order creating a new, excepted service called Schedule F, well, it's been nearly universal. But some experts think changing policy-connected civil service jobs is overdue. For that sentiment, the Federal Drive turned to the research fellow in economics, budget and entitlements at the Heritage Foundation, Rachel Greszler. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Organizations that receive funding from the EPA are required to adhere to section Six of the Civil Rights Act, which bars racial discrimination. That goes for state and local governments, non-profits, academics and contractors. But agency staff don't always check, according to an audit by the Office of Inspector General. Joining the Federal Drive with more, project manager in the OIG, Gabby Fekete. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's a complaint that started about the day after formation of the Homeland Security Department. Secretaries have complained. Employees. Contractors. Academics. Think tanks. Even member of Congress themselves. The complaint? Too many congressional committees have sway over DHS plans, policies and budgets. Now one member of Congress has called for reform. He happens to be chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security. Mississippi Democrat Bennie Thompson (D-MS). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Desire by the Office of Management and Budget’s for governmentwide shared services remains as strong as ever. But the obstacles have been stubborn over the last 15 years. A recommendations from the Shared Services Coalition aim to bring some solutions to problems that have plagued financial management, human resources and other back-office initiatives since the Bush administration. John Marshall is the founder and CEO of the Shared Services Coalition and he gave executive editor Jason Miller an exclusive look into what federal and industry executives say is needed to give some momentum to governmentwide shared services. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices