Federal Drive with Tom Temin

Lots of people put a neatly tied ending to their federal careers by retiring on December 31. Next year New Year's Day is a Monday, so you could wake up and have a mimosa. But in the next several weeks, you've got some serious final planning to do. Federal Drive Host Tom Temin talked with a happy federal retiree, Abe Grungold, who is also the owner of AG Financial Services. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We all know military life can present challenges for a family. Having to constantly move from one city to another, can lead to child care issues, as well as trouble for the military spouse to find a job in a new location. Way above the national average, military spouses register an unemployment rate of more than 20%. Since 2009, an organization called, "Blue Star Families" has tried to help military families navigate the challenges they will undoubtedly face. The Co-Founder and CEO of Blue Star Families, Kathy Roth-Douquet, recently talked with Federal Drive Executive Producer Eric White. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode of the Federal Drive with Tom Temin: Military life is a tough job for the whole family. A big retirement date is coming soon. What you need to do to prepare. Huge deadlines looming in Congress before the end of 2023. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While a government shutdown has been averted for the second time this year, the pattern of continuing resolutions (CRs) is still impacting military service members, civilian federal workers and their families. The focus can often be on the numbers and getting funding passed, but appropriations and continuing resolutions have a human impact too. The Defense Department impact For example, during the 2013 shutdown that impacted the Defense Department, it not only affected service members, but also DoD civilians, said John Polowczyk, an executive director at Ernst and Young and a retired Navy Rear Admiral, who also was the supply chain lead on the White House Coronavirus Task Force and Joint Staff vice director for logistics. “The Navy is a multi-dimensional team and people forget about the role the civilian employees play,” Polowczyk told Federal News Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There is new leadership at the organization that represents managers and other non-union employees at the Internal Revenue Service. Kelly Reyes was named the Professional Managers Association’s (PMA) new executive director last week. She replaces Chad Hooper, who left the organization this past summer. Reyes previously served as PMA’s national vice president. For a look at the latest with the PMA, Federal News Network Deputy Editor Jared Serbu talked with Kelly Reyes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) has proposed several revisions to rules concerning its duties under the Privacy Act, including duties assigned to the office of the solicitor. For more on what is going on and what you need to know, Federal Drive Host Tom Temin talked with Thomas Tso, FLRA's Solicitor. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today's episode of the Federal Drive with Tom Temin: The Federal Labor Relations Authority proposes new privacy rules. New leadership at the Professional Managers Association. The Army is confident it’s finally solving the challenge of moving to a modern contract writing system. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is attempting to make cybersecurity a high-level issue for companies by only allowing top executives to sign off on a new secure software attestation form that will be used across the federal government. CISA released the second draft of the “secure software development attestation form” this week after releasing an initial version of the form in April. The form is a key component in a government-wide push to ensure agencies use securely developed software. The attestation’s form’s requirements are based on the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Secure Software Development Framework (SSDF). The latest version of the form is now open for comment to CISA and the White House Office of Management and Budget through Dec. 18. Once the form is finalized, OMB will require agencies to start using the form within three months for all “critical software” and six months for most other third-party software. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For the agency most visibly on the front lines of security, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) in some ways is the face of the federal government. More than its technology, its people make it tick. As millions of Americans prepare to fly this holiday season, Federal Drive Host Tom Temin checked in with TSA's deputy administrator, Holly Canevari. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The latest continuing resolution Congress passed last week avoided a government shutdown. But even if lawmakers achieve that feat again next year, on the two different dates when the CR expires, there are a lot of other ways the rest of fiscal 2024 could be messy for federal agencies and their vendors. To look into it further, Federal News Network Deputy Director Jared Serbu talked with Larry Allen, President of Allen Federal Business Partners. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You most likely have seen it over the past couple of years. Your old friend from high school sharing that link that shows a new secret way to prevent COVID-19 that ended up being an ad for modern day snake oil. Yes health misinformation exploded over the course of the pandemic, overwhelming governments, public health authorities, and social media platforms looking to combat it. A new study looked into how well health misinformation is researched by these institutions and the methods they used to fight it. One of the study's authors is Stefanie Friedhoff, professor of the practice at Brown University's School of Public Health. She told Federal News Network's Eric White what they found. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today's episode of the Federal Drive with Tom Temin: TSA's chief of staff puts the emphasis less on chief and more on staff. What can be done in the public-health sector to combat misinformation? Why there's not a huge cause for optimism for the rest of the federal budget year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Congress’ habit of kicking the can down the road with more continuing resolutions instead of full appropriations bills could have major repercussions for the Defense Department and other agencies, the Pentagon’s top financial official said this week. Mike McCord, DoD’s chief financial officer, said it is promising that the House of Representatives passed a continuing resolution (CR) this week, but Congress needs to fully fund the government. Since he spoke on Wednesday afternoon, the Senate has passed the CR and it now heads to President Joe Biden’s desk, which will mean the potential government shutdown that would have occurred if Congress did not pass something by Nov. 17, will likely be averted. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Most federal employees are inching toward what will likely be a 5.2% pay raise in 2024. But even that big of a boost won’t be enough to offset the growing wage gap between the federal and private sectors of the nationwide workforce, according to the Federal Salary Council. Over the last year, federal employees earned on average 27.54% less in wages than their private sector counterparts. The Federal Salary Council, composed of federal and labor leaders, reported the updated number in a public meeting Tuesday. It’s more than a 3% increase in the pay disparity since the council’s previous report of a 24.09% wage gap during 2022. The percentage-based pay gap has remained in the low- and mid-twenties for several years, and has stayed consistently above 20% since March 2007, the Federal Salary Council working group noted in its latest report. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices