Federal Drive with Tom Temin

Federal whistleblower protections against retaliation, against being outed after making confidential have been enshrined in law — several times. Yet problems persist, at least in the eyes of the whistleblower ecosystem. For the latest thinking in the whistleblower community, the Federal Drive with Tom Temin spoke to the co-founder and general counsel of the National Whistleblower Center, David Colapinto. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In less than a month, the 2020 Census internet self-response platform goes live. But now the Government Accountability Office has flagged potential cybersecurity weaknesses. As a result, the bureau has decided to use some of its backup systems to help manage the volume of traffic for online responses. But GAO auditors say last-minute IT changes like that could introduce still other new risks. Federal News Network's Jory Heckman joined the Federal Drive with Tom Temin to discuss the details. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the real world of military preparedness, even the United States operates with the help and cooperation of other nations' forces. Much of the relationship building and training comes under the auspices of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency. Now that agency has launched a certification program for people in the security cooperation workforce. For its aims and how the certification will work, president of Defense Security Cooperation University Cara Abercrombie spoke with the Federal Drive with Tom Temin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Budgets have often been called the financial expression of values. In the politically-twisted world of government budgeting, it can be hard to tell what everyone is up to. Now that we've all had a week to digest the 2021 budget proposal from the Trump administration, the Federal Drive with Tom Temin reflected a little on the process with a long-time former federal budget official, now the managing director for the public sector at Grant Thornton, Doug Criscitello. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Mitre Corporation, which operates federally funded research and development centers has set up a lab to explore mobile autonomous systems. It's already equipped a Jeep Grand Cherokee to give feedback on the challenges of autonomy. To learn more about the process, the Federal Drive with Tom Temin spoke with Zachary LaCelle, the lead engineer, and Chris Hill, the director of Transportation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Modernizing the federal workforce has been a top priority for the Trump administration since day one. There have been some successes over the past three years. But many of them are smaller victories... achieved through administrative changes. But the Office of Personnel Management does have some bold ideas to help agencies better recruit and retain top talent. They're just tucked inside a 500-page budget document. Federal News Network's Nicole Ogrysko dug through that document and explained her findings on the Federal Drive with Tom Temin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Defense Department’s forthcoming overhaul of industrial base cybersecurity crossed a major milestone this month when DoD published the first version of the documentation for the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program. But the Pentagon still has a lot of work to do – and a lot of information to communicate to industry – before CMMC makes its way into contracts later this year. Corbin Evans is director of regulatory policy at the National Defense Industrial Association. He talked with Federal News Network’s Jared Serbu about the road ahead for CMMC, and the role industry associations will play in the process. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Out in the hinterlands, wireless carriers are worried about the government ban on Chinese equipment. But they're encouraged over recent FCC and Congressional action they say will let network operations continue, because the government will pay for replacement equipment. To sort out a complicated issue, attorney Carri Bennet, representing the Rural Wireless Association spoke to the Federal Drive with Tom Temin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hold on we have some breaking news here....the more information an agency tells a vendor about why they lost a contract bid, the more satisfied the contractor is with the process. Let THAT sink in for a moment, more communication is better Despite what might be obvious to most people, this a conclusion that recently dawned on the General Services Administration. Executive editor Jason Miller explains why GSA should move more quickly to expand enhanced debriefings on The Federal Drive with Tom Temin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There's proposed federal rules for protecting cybersecurity in the communications supply chain. Well, not everyone in the industry is happy with them. One group calls the proposed rule fundamentally flawed. For more, the Federal Drive with Tom Temin spoke with John Miller, senior vice president of policy at the technology trade association ITI. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Not everyone lives in a city. Those in rural areas often have to deal with a shortage of medical practitioners. That includes veterans. The Veterans Affairs Department has launched a workforce development initiative to try and correct this problem. For more details Dr. Thomas Klobucar joined the Federal Drive with Tom Temin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An old plan to save the Postal Service $97 billion over the next 11 years is getting new life. The Trump administration's fiscal 2021 budget request has refreshed recommendations made by a postal task force in December 2018, led by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. The task force recommended rolling back the right of postal unions to collectively bargain over compensation. The White House has also tacked on a plan to restructure USPS payments to pre-fund retiree health benefits. Federal News Network's Jory Heckman joined Tom Temin with more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Drug Enforcement Administration doesn't just nab illegal drug traffickers. It also regulates the production of legal but dangerous drugs, like opioids. Responding to a law enacted in 2018, the DEA is proposing new regulations for how it grants quotas, in an effort to curb addiction. To find out how this process works, Federal Drive with Tom Temin spoke with the DEA's assistant administrator for diversion control, Tim McDermott. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Electric cars have become pretty common. The next round of 'lectric just might be airplanes. In fact, NASA has built an electric plane called the X-57. It's a test bed for new propulsion systems that don't burn fuel. For more details, Federal Drive with Tom Temin talked with the project manager for flight demonstrations and capabilities at NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center, Brent Cobleigh. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Drug Enforcement Administration helps prevent the diversion of legal, prescription opioids. One of its requirements is the collection of industry-generated sales data. The Government Accountability Office has found way the DEA could tighten up the quality and governance of the data. For more, Federal Drive with Tom Temin spoke to the GAO's director of Homeland Security and Justice issues, Triana McNeil. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices