Federal Drive with Tom Temin

It doesn't matter how big the Navy's fleet is on paper if ships and submarines spend too much time in maintenance and repair docks. But that's exactly what they're doing. Thanks to change orders from the Navy and problems with shipyard performance, vessels tend to spend months and months longer in repair than they're supposed to. Federal Drive with Tom Temin got the latest analysis from the Director of Defense Capabilities and Management Issues at the Government Accountability Office Diana Maurer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Melting polar ice is a phenomenon scientists have been following for decades. What colleagues call the gold standard for this type of research was pioneered by a NASA scientist, Claire Parkinson. She has many publications to her credit, and now she's a finalist in this year's Service to America Medals program. To get her story Federal News Network's Eric white spoke to the climate change senior scientist from Goddard Space Flight Center on Federal Drive with Tom Temin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When COVID-19 struck, the Defense Department stopped its troops from moving to new orders unless that was absolutely essential. That stop move order came right as movers were about to hit their peak season. Military makes up about 20% of the moving industry's revenue. The stop move order and the coronavirus therefore put one of DoD's key industrial bases in jeopardy. But now thanks to some strange relocations it seems to be bouncing back. Federal News Network's Scott Maucione spoke to Katie McMichael, director of moving and storage conference at the American Trucking Associations, on Federal Drive with Tom Temin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The president's upcoming payroll tax deferral has federal employees asking dozens of questions about what the policy means for them, like, is it a tax cut if you have to pay it back? They're not getting many answers. The Trump administration late last week confirmed all active duty military members will be subject to the tax deferral, also. Federal News Network's Nicole Ogrysko joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin for more details. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The curtain opens on a Congress deeply divided, but you knew that already. Now the question is whether they'll pass a budget for the year starting October 1. At least the the continuing resolution negotiations won't get wrapped around the axle of a new pandemic response bill. The Federal Drive got the outlook from Bloomberg Government congress reporter Jack Fitzpatrick. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The rapid payout programs spawned by the government's coronavirus response legislation has sharpened an old problem. A small but persistent percentage of Americans, entitled to various benefits programs, don't have bank accounts. They're known as the unbanked. Joining the Federal Drive with some possible solutions, former deputy assistant Treasury secretary for economic policy, now with the Brookings Institution, Aaron Klein. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The expansion of people and task thrust on the Small Business Administration in the pandemic response has been well documented. It had to add systems and staff, and design new programs all with everyone teleworking. I was curious about how people communicated among themselves and with industry while all of this was building up. So the Federal Drive with Tom Temin asked the SBA's chief technology officer, Sanjay Gupta. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Army is taking a fresh look at the IT systems that underpin its financial management. Even though the service has already invested billions of dollars in enterprise resource planning systems, it’s looking toward a future where its business systems are more agile. The work is part of a new partnership between Army financial management and IT officials. To learn more about it, Federal News Network’s Jared Serbu spoke with Greg Garcia, the acting Army CIO, and with Jonathan Moak, the principal deputy assistant secretary of the Army for financial management. Moak speaks first. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If chief information security officers weren't busy enough, two new policies will stack their plates even higher. The White House released a new cybersecurity policy. And, the Federal Acquisition Security Council dropped a long awaited interim rule. Both aimed at addressing long standing governmentwide challenges. Federal News Network's Jason Miller read through those policies and joined the Federal Drive with analysis of what you need to know and do over the next year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You could buy a bunch of printers and 3-ring binders, or maybe that branch office Winnebago with your spend-it-or-lose-it money this year. You've got less than a month. Or you could get some real innovation done. That's according to the self-styled government and industry connector company Dcode. Joining the Federal Drive with more, Dcode's chief strategy officer, Meg Vorland. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last year, when Baltimore's municipal functions basically came to a halt, it highlighted the cybersecurity challenges at the non-federal level. The truth is, the ability and skill in staying cyber safe varies widely across state and local governments. That's the finding of a detailed study by BlueVoyant. Joining the Federal Drive with more, BlueVoyant's head of incident response, and former FBI special agent, Austin Berglas. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Yogi Berra would have gotten it wrong when it comes to the space surrounding earth. It's gotten so popular, people are still flocking there. It raises a serious question. Which federal agency should take charge of space traffic management. Congress couldn't figure it out, so it hired the National Academy of Public Administration. For what it concluded, the Federal Drive with Tom Temin turned to NAPA study fellow, and former NASA administrator, Sean O'Keefe. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jim Cruse started his career at the Export-Import Bank back in 1970. He's been there ever since. He's responsible for several major policy changes, negotiations and the reauthorization of the bank over the course of five decades. Cruse celebrated his 50th work anniversary with his coworkers last month, virtually, alas. He tells Federal News Network's Nicole Ogrysko what the bank was like when he first started, and how the agency has changed since. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Census Bureau is working on a squeezed timeline to wrap up the 2020 count. Senior Census officials told the House Oversight and Reform Committee in closed-door briefings that the bureau has revised its schedule to meet legal December 31 deadline. That's the officials. Census documents warn of serious risks to data quality, if the bureau rushes quality assurance steps. For more on these developments, Federal News Network’s Jory Heckman. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My next guest says conflict, instability and political unrest have all become more urban. And also that the Army has not adapted nearly enough to the demands of urban warfare. Even though Army leadership has acknowledged this need. For more, the chief of urban warfare studies at West Point, John Spencer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices