Federal Drive with Tom Temin

Forensic algorithms have become a routine tool for federal law enforcement agencies. The Government Accountability Office finds the algorithms are used to tie crime scene evidence to individuals with fingerprints or DNA on record. Now California Congressman Mark Takano (D-CA) has introduced a bill that would give defendants access to the source code of the algorithms. Representative Takano joined the Federal Drive with Tom Temin to discuss. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Agencies continue to bring new employees onboard during the coronavirus pandemic, and that includes interns. For more than a decade, the Virtual Student Federal Service has matched e-interns with unclassified projects such as coding, speech writing and website design. The concept started at the State Department, and has spread to other agencies. For more on the program, Federal News Network’s Jory Heckman spoke with the State Department’s senior adviser for innovation, Nora Dempsey. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For the last several months, most of the legal controversy around DOD’s much-contested JEDI Cloud contract has centered on the legal fight between DoD and Amazon. But remember Oracle’s JEDI challenge? It’s still going on. A federal appeals court was supposed to hear oral arguments in that case on Friday, but they were called off because of protests in the nation’s capital. Federal News Network’s Jared Serbu joined the Federal Drive with Tom Temin to talk about the arguments Oracle will be making, once it’s safe for the court to reopen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

People with disabilities often hire lawyers or other representatives to do the awful paperwork of filing for Social Security benefits. But because they use a rep, Social Security requires signed paperwork, a so called wet signatures, meaning they can't file online. Now several plaintiffs and the National Federation of the Blind have sued Social Security to get that changed. Joining the Federal Drive with Tom Temin for more, the federation's spokesman, Chris Danielson. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Like all trillion dollar legislation debated and passed within days, the Cares Act and its spawn, the Payroll Protection Program, have got problems, you might say. However well intentioned, the PPP has issues. For a few specific suggestions, the Federal Drive with Tom Temin turned to judicial law clerk for the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, and former Akin Gump attorney, Samantha Block. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Department of Veterans Affairs admits, it doesn't quite have coronavirus testing available for employees as it previously suggested it did. VA offered some clarity on how it's been handling its pandemic response in recent months. Congress agrees, VA's response has been relatively smooth, despite some challenges with personal protective equipment and testing for employees. But VA says it's fully expecting a second potential wave of the virus down the road. And that has budget implications for the department. The Federal Drive with Tom Temin got more from Federal News Network's Nicole Ogrysko. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As civil unrest continues across the nation, the Air Force’s top enlisted airman is speaking out about the racial disparities within the service. However, his words are ringing a little empty to some as allegations that the Air Force continually ignored ways it could improve its justice system boil to the surface. Federal News Network’s Scott Maucione joined the Federal Drive with Tom Temin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Do federal agencies have strategic change processes in place to have people return to their offices. Well sort of. But my next guest doesn't think the published, three-phase plans go far enough. For the latest strike of the gadfly, the Federal Drive with Tom Temin spoke to American University professor Bob Tobias. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As telework expanded rapidly for the federal workforce, so did the use of commercial cloud services. A study by McAfee found it grew 50%. That in turn seems to have attracted a blizzard of cybersecurity threats. Joining the Federal Drive with Tom Temin with more on the study, McAfee's U.S. public sector chief technology strategist, Ned Miller. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Face masks might be great for preventing germ spread, but they and other personal protective gear can get might gross mighty fast. People breathe, sweat, cough and lord knows what else. Now the Defense Logistics Agency has awarded a contract to develop equipment that can disinfect protective gear. Joining the Federal Drive with Tom Temin, the DLA's director of research and development, David Koch. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Developing a coronavirus vaccine and starting to administer it before the year is over is an ambitious goal. But the Army officials who are taking part in governmentwide efforts to develop a vaccine at “warp speed” say it’s far from impossible. As Federal News Network’s Jared Serbu reports, they believe they’ve already proven they can develop the vaccine, and with that kind of speed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The National Institute of Health's Information Technology Acquisition and Assessment Center or NITAAC has about two years to award its next governmentwide acquisition contract. This one'll be called CIO-SP4. It may seem like they've got plenty of time, but NITAAC already is getting comments back on its draft solicitation.For what he hopes to learn from industry, Federal News Network's Jason spoke with NITAAC's contracting lead for the CIO-SP3 and CIO-SP4, Keith Johnson. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A longstanding request to shake up how agencies declassify sensitive documents hasn’t gained much ground. For years the National Archives and Records Administration has urged the president to bring the paper-based declassification process in the digital world. NARA’s Public Interest Declassification Board says its recommendations have become more urgent during the coronavirus pandemic. Federal News Network’s Jory Heckman spoke with a member of the board and the head of public policy at CloudFlare, Alissa Starzak. Hear more on Federal Drive with Tom Temin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Agriculture Department is rolling out a new performance and awards system for employees this fall. Instead of a performance rating of 1-5, employees will essentially "pass" or "fail." USDA said the new system will free up more time and money to reward employees for specific achievements. USDA is no stranger to big workforce changes. And they have not always gone well. Federal News Network's Nicole Ogrysko joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin to explain what's coming. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There's no shortage of bad news these days. Through it all, it's easy to forget one of the longest-running bad news stories. The nation has too many people who are short of food. The problem has gotten worse in the economic downturn. Just ask any food bank. But you can help. This week the Agriculture Department launched its annual Feds Feed Families national food drive. The Drive's national chair Lavinia Panizo joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin for the details. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices