Federal Drive with Tom Temin

A year later than expected, the 18F organization at the General Services Administration will finally break even in 2020. The technology consulting and service provider spent 600 thousand dollars more in 2019 than it brought in from agency customers. Getting to this point was a long time in coming for 18F, which the Obama administration created in 2014 to help agencies move the IT modernization needle forward faster. In his weekly feature, the Reporter's Notebook, executive editor Jason Miller writes about why House lawmakers questioned 18F's finances and its role in IT modernization. Jason joins me now to discuss. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As federal agencies dust off their continuity of operations plans in light of the corona virus threat, contractors are also thinking about their own immediate futures. For a list of possibilities and how to deal with them, the Federal Drive with Tom Temin spoke to attorney Michelle Coleman of the law firm Crowell Moring. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After President Trump signed the emergency corona virus appropriations bill Friday, the National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and others are it. This week we'll learn more about federal plans as hearings continue. The Federal Drive with Tom Temin got the latest from WTOP capitol hill correspondent Mitchell Miller. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today's Federal Newscast, The Government Accountability Office says Interior never gave detailed reasons for relocating specific Bureau of Land Management headquarters positions to Colorado or other western states. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

New telework policies are in place for much of the Social Security Administration. Some employees are teleworking a day or two less than before. Telework is eliminated for others. Now coronavirus concerns and the agency's response, or lack of one, are just the cherry on top for many employees. Federal News Network's Nicole Ogrysko joined the Federal Drive with Tom Temin to explain how telework has changed for the SSA workforce. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Not even many feds may be aware of the small, independent U.S. Chemical Safety Board. It has a critical mission, investigating industrial chemical accidents. The board has had a somewhat rocky time over the past few years. Critics say it's understaffed. But recently it got a crucial rule out the door. For an update, the Federal Drive with Tom Temin spoke to the board's interim executive, Dr. Kristen Kulinowski. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Building off the Defense Department’s recent adoption of artificial intelligence principles ... the intelligence community will soon release its own public set of AI principles. Other corners of the federal government have also begun to roll out their own AI ethics platforms. But the Office of the Director of National Intelligence says those policies don't meet all the concerns of the IC, Federal News Network's Jory Heckman has the latest. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Defense Department left three key provisions, demanded by the last Defense authorization, out of its tenant bill of rights. Advocates, tenants and lawmakers say those three were the most important. The Pentagon is promising to put them into the bill of rights, after it talks with the private military housing companies. While the brass cogitates, service members and their families continue to suffer through mice, mold, lead paint and other substandard housing conditions. This more than a year after DoD and the housing companies promised to clean up their act. Federal News Network's Scott Maucione joined the Federal Drive with Tom Temin to explain. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Army maintains a network of research laboratories exploring everything from medical materials to new drone technologies. It also works to encourage more young people to get into scientific fields. Matt Willis, director of laboratory management in the office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology, joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin for more discussion. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Calling it a fundamental change in how the agency does digital, the International Trade Administration launched a new iteration of its Trade.gov web site. It's full of new features to help companies that export, or hope to. For what went into this digital services effort, the ITA's acting chief information officer, Rona Bunn spoke to the Federal Drive with Tom Temin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's an age old problem but a practical one. How do you measure the value of spending on prevention. That's a recurring challenge for federal agencies sensitive to the dangers of cybersecurity breaches. And to appropriators who vote on the money. So how do you justify cybersecurity spending? For some of the latest thinking, the Federal News Network with Tom Temin turn to Paul Rosenzweig, former homeland security cyber official, now a senior fellow at the R Street Institute. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Defense Department left three key provisions, demanded by the last Defense authorization, out of its tenant bill of rights. Advocates, tenants and lawmakers say those three were the most important. The Pentagon is promising to put them into the bill of rights, after it talks with the private military housing companies. While the brass cogitates, service members and their families continue to suffer through mice, mold, lead paint and other substandard housing conditions. This more than a year after DoD and the housing companies promised to clean up their act. Federal News Network's Scott Maucione joined the Federal Drive with Tom Temin to explain. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Unstoppable budget trends are, more and more, starving the government of the funds it needs to invest in itself. Money for modernizing systems and processes. More governments are looking to private capital, to see if there's a mechanism by which to bring it in. That's the topic of a new study by the IBM Center for the Business of Government. Two of the study's authors, Ken Buck, an adjunct professor at the University of Virginia, and Steve Redburn, a lecturer at George Washington University, joined the Federal Drive with Tom Temin to discuss some of their findings. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's tempting to want to do something with your retirement investments when the stock market tanks. But you don't want to buy high and sell low. For a few reminders on the basics, the Federal Drive with Tom Temin spoke with ProFeds founder Chris Kowalik. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For some civil servants, a post-federal career in industry beckons. For others, academia. That's the case for Jessica Rich, the former director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, now a distinguished fellow at Georgetown Law School. She joined the Federal Drive with Tom Temin to talk more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices