Federal Drive with Tom Temin

When the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention flags a foodborne illness such as e-coli in spinach, it turns to the Food and Drug Administration’s Emergency Management Office to pinpoint the source. Now the agency is also turning to things like geospatial data and soon machine learning and artificial intelligence to gain new insights into food shipping data. Wayne Gorski is the director of program operations and coordination at FDA’s Office of Emergency Management. He tells Federal News Network’s Jory Heckman how these emerging technologies help his office find foodborne outbreaks faster. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Pentagon says it’s time to “right size” its national system of hospitals and clinics. Under a plan DoD rolled out yesterday, 50 military treatment facilities would be affected. The majority of them would close their doors to military retirees and family members, and only treat active duty servicemembers. Federal News Network’s Jared Serbu has details on why the department wants the changes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In what was lightning speed in Pentagon terms, the new Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification is out. So now what? My next guest has been following this project closely from the beginning. Here with an update, law firm RJO partner Bob Metzger. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Army has long wanted super soldiers who can operate on little sleep while still keeping their cognitive abilities. The Army Research Office may be on to something with a new five-year study on the recently discovered glymphatic system in the brain. The system has to do with the way the mind washes away toxins when you sleep. No, we're not talking about brainwashing. Federal News Network’s Scott Maucione talks with Matthew Munson, program manager for fluid dynamics at ARO, about the project. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Two factors are driving military spending priorities: The shift in strategy to great powers competition, and the need to restore the U.S. technological edge, or offset. Data analysts at Govini looked at five years of Defense Department spending to determine whether spending on Research Development Test and Evaluation, or RDT&E, reflects those priorities. Govini CEO Tara Murphy Dougherty joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin with what they found. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The caucuses in Iowa showed it doesn't require foreign adversaries or political enemies to screw up voting. The locals did that all on their own. But still, election security is an important concern as the 2020 races heat up. The Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) considers election security as one its top priorities. If that's the case, it needs to hurry up and finish its strategic plan according to the Government Accountability Office. For more, Federal Drive with Tom Temin turned to the GAO's director of information technology and cybersecurity issues, Vijay D'Souza. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's been a tough few weeks for federal employees, at least for those who worry about their jobs, their pay and their retirements. Maybe they should take the long view, as Federal Drive with Tom Temin heard from former Department of Homeland Security Chief Human Capital Officer Jeff Neal. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Trump administration is still making the case for a merger of the Office of Personnel Management with the General Services Administration. Even as it acknowledged it can't do much until the National Academy of Public Administration finishes a year-long study. That didn't stop the White House from requesting $70 million to pay for the OPM-GSA merger. The administration says it'll use the money to buy new IT equipment, integrate OPM systems into GSA's, and move staff. Federal News Network's Nicole Ogrysko joined the Federal Drive with Tom Temin to give some more details. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The General Services Administration's new website listing contracting opportunities is a tale of two stories. GSA will tell you that the number of users is growing while the number of complaints or questions is stable and at levels that reflect the old FedBizopps.gov site. But others, like the Professional Services Council and its member companies, will tell you a different story,one of frustration and disappointment. In his weekly feature, the Reporter's Notebook, executive editor Jason Miller writes about why three months after the transition to beta.sam.gov GSA and contractors remain at odds over the site's functionality. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Federal inspectors general are finishing up the testing of their agencies' compliance with the Data Act. It's one of three audits required under the 2014 law. But the Council of Inspectors General changed the audit methodology between the current exercise and the one they did two years ago. Some say that could lead to skewed results though. One of them is Sean Moulton, senior policy analyst at the Project on Government Oversight. He joined the Federal Drive with Tom Temin to explain why. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With the Space Force in full-bore development mode, the new service, along with the Air Force, National Guard, and Defense Department, are weighing the options for a Space Guard. The military component has been in the cards since the Space Force itself became a real possibility. A report on the issue is due to Congress by the middle of March. Federal News Network’s Scott Maucione joins the Federal Drive with Tom Temin for details. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Contractors may not all be aware of the Defense Department's new adaptive acquisition framework. But they should be. Eight acquisition policies are going to pop out of it in the next few months. The idea is to tailor acquisition strategies to the product or service DoD will buy. For more, Federal Drive with Tom Temin turned to federal sales and marketing consultant Larry Allen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The government pays for billions of dollars worth of scientific research each year, beyond the science conducted by federal agencies themselves. One member of Congress says American science faces threats from many directions. He's in a position to help, as the new chairman of the House Science Committee's investigations and oversight subcommittee. Illinois Representative Bill Foster joined the Federal Drive to discuss. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last week, a federal judge issued an injunction that blocks the Defense Department from moving forward with its JEDI Cloud contract. It’s going to be another couple of weeks before we see unsealed court documents that explain the exact reasons for the decision. But one thing’s for sure: it’s yet another big setback for the JEDI program. Federal News Network’s Jared Serbu has been following the JEDI saga for the past two years, he joined the Federal Drive with Tom Temin to discuss where things stand. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Citing the budget caps agreed to last year, Congressional Democrats say they'll ignore President Donald Trump's proposed cuts for civilian agencies next year. That's not all they plan to oppose. For more of what's ahead, the Federal Drive with Tom Temin talked to Bloomberg Government Congress Reporter Jack Fitzpatrick. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices