Federal Drive with Tom Temin

Air traffic control is never easy work. But now controllers are concerned about coronavirus, working cheek-by-jowl in sometimes cramped airport control towers. For an update on the situation for them, the Federal Drive with Tom Temin spoke to the executive vice president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, Trish Gilbert. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The situation is fluid, but coronavirus dollars are still flowing through federal agencies. Obligations so far have exceeded four billion dollars, according to the latest Bloomberg Government analysis, with more to come. For an update on where the next round of opportunities lies, the Federal Drive with Tom Temin spoke to BGov's director of government contracts, Dan Snyder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My next guest spent 30 years in the federal government, including the CIA's national intelligence officer for East Asia. An expert on China, he recently retired and joined the Center for the National Interest, a think tank devoted to, in its words, a voice for strategic realism in U.S. Foreign Policy. Dr. Paul Heer joined the Federal Drive with Tom Temin to discuss. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Defense Department brass are getting serious when it comes to following the rules on coronavirus. Congress is sniffing around Defense Product Act spending. And a new Air Force undersecretary is to be nominated by the president. For details on these and other new developments in DoD, Federal News Network reporters Scott Maucione, and Jared Serbu. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The General Services Administration has awarded five year, blanket purchase agreements to Uber and Lyft, so federal employees can use them for official travel. When things return to normal. But usage comes with a 2% fee. In his weekly Reporter's Notebook, Federal News Network executive editor Jason Miller has the skinny on these BPAs and how much takeup they're likely to get. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Congress has finished making April showers, showers of money to the tune of trillions. Now they're on recess for a week. For what made and didn't make the latest stimulus bill and a look ahead, Bloomberg Government editorial director Loren Duggan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

State and local governments whose locales are hit by hurricanes, floods, or other disasters, often are unsure which damage-prevention measures will yield the best results. And they've got limited dollars to spend on resilience. Now the National Institute of Standards and Technology has stepped in with an online guide to help local officials evaluate and compare possible projects. For how it was developed, the Federal Drive with Tom Temin spoke with NIST research economist Dr. Jennifer Helgeson. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Federal agencies are among the users of and contributors to a data consortium tracking the corona virus. Organized by retail traffic company SafeGraph, it is making data available on foot traffic to researchers, for free. For what it's all about, the Federal Drive with Tom Temin spoke with SafeGraph's Nick Singh. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As they were in the 2008 collapse, largely financial agencies -- Housing and Urban Development and Small Business Administration -- have become first responders. First economic responders, thanks to the series of money-printing bills Congress is passing. For some insight on how they might cope, former HUD chief financial officer, now managing director for the public sector at Grant Thornton, Doug Criscitello. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Senate Democrats earlier this month called for thirteen dollars an hour extra in hazard pay for federal employees still working on the front lines during the coronavirus pandemic. The plan includes employees of the VA, the Federal Aviation Administration, the Transportation Security Administration and the Postal Service. For more, Federal News Network’s Jory Heckman spoke with the executive vice president of the National Association of Postal Supervisors, Ivan Butts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Veterans who received emergency medical treatment at non-VA facilities recently achieved a victory in the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. Now the VA last week started sending corrective notices to a million vets that weren't reimbursed. Here with details, the executive director of the National Veterans Legal Services Program, Bart Stichman. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cyber mischief makers know you're teleworking. And they're trying to take advantage of it. Now you might not still carry a BlackBerry device, but your email security may in fact still be protected by the company's software. For tips on maintaining good security, the Federal Drive with Tom Temin talked with BlackBerry's vice president of secure communications, David Wiseman. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Members of Congress, wherever they might be, haven't missed receiving a Congressional Record. Nor have executive branch agencies failed to receive the Federal Register. That's all thanks to measures taken by the Government Publishing Office, which also has most of its people teleworking. For an update, the Federal Drive with Tom Temin spoke with GPO's director, Hugh Halpern. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the pandemic drags on, House leadership is pushing a rules change to allow members to vote in-person on behalf of members not there. But some say that plan doesn’t go far enough and have pushed to hold votes, hearings and markups through online video platforms. To test the idea, former members of Congress and good-government groups tried mock hearings. For more Federal News Network’s Jory Heckman spoke with Marci Harris, the CEO and co-founder of PopVox. But first you’ll hear from the policy director at Demand Progress, Daniel Schuman. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Senior leaders at NASA say they've heard a common refrain from their employees during the pandemic: "How can we help?" NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine put out a call to the agency's workforce earlier this month: Send us your best ideas for how NASA can leverage its own research and expertise during the pandemic. NASA says it got hundreds of ideas from its employees on how they can track and predict the spread of coronavirus and create personal protective equipment and ventilation devices. For how NASA-At-Work got started, Federal News Network's Nicole Ogrysko spoke with NASA deputy associate administrator Cathy Mangum. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices