Federal Drive with Tom Temin

The listings are out this morning — the Best Places to Work in the federal government. Once again NASA ranks number one among large agencies, and the Department of Homeland Security at the bottom. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission tops the midsized agencies list while the Education Department lies at the bottom. In anticipation of release of this year's listings, Federal Drive with Tom Temin spoke with Max Stier, CEO of the Partnership for Public Service, and Danny Werfel, federal head of The Boston Consulting Group and former federal executive, whose organizations compiled the rankings.

Paychecks for federal employees may look a little larger next year. Congress has agreed to a 3.1% pay raise for civilian federal employees. The raise is part of two major spending bills that are supposed to fund all of government through the end of fiscal 2020. Which also means a shutdown won't occur. Congress is under some tight pressure, though, to get everything done. Federal News Network's Nicole Ogrysko joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin for the latest details.

Defense contractors have to keep their eyes and ears open this week. There are new rules for cybersecurity, a new rule on Chinese telecom equipment, and a loaded-up National Defense Authorization Act chock full of contractor provisions. The Executive Vice President and counsel at the Professional Services Council, Alan Chvotkin, joined Federal Drive Tom Temin for a rundown of what's to come.

Cadet Daine Van de Wall graduated from the Army Airborne School and Army Survival Evasion Resistance and Escape School. He's a commander and science major at West Point, and now he's about to spend a semester at Oxford University in the U.K. as a Rhodes Scholar en route to earning a master's degree in international relations. He joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin to discuss his academic ambitions.

The Air Force wants to make digital life easier and more interesting for its airmen. It’s starting up a new digital university so they can take cyber classes. The service is also reviewing the ease of use of its apps. Federal News Network’s Scott Maucione talked with Air Force Deputy Chief Information Officer Bill Marion about the digital Air Force and what airmen will see in the future. Hear more on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

Can it be that an actual budget deal is met with no government shutdown? That's what it looks like as Congress returns to Capitol Hill this week. Although more of the impeachment paroxysm is forthcoming, to say nothing of Christmas. For a look ahead, Federal Drive with Tom Temin turned to the Fulcrum Editor-in-Chief David Hawkings.

Since its launch last year the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has revved the Department of Homeland Security’s cyber threat intelligence sharing between the government and industry. Now the president’s National Infrastructure Advisory Council is urging CISA and its government partners to create two new federal organizations to centralize efforts protect critical infrastructure, and to share threat information. Federal News Network’s Jory Heckman had more details on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

Diplomatic security is a serious business for the State Department. To bolster efforts to protect staff members working around the world, the Diplomatic Security Service recently opened an extensive training facility at an Army National Guard complex in Virginia. The Assistant Secretary of State for diplomatic security, Michael Evanoff, joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin for details on the Foreign Affairs Security Training Center.

Federal employees are a step closer to a brand new paid parental leave benefit now that the House has passed the annual National Defense Authorization Act. The Senate is supposed to consider it next week. And the president has already tweeted his support. Paid leave is the main attraction for the federal workforce, but there's a lot for civilian employees to like about this year's National Defense Authorization Act. Federal News Network's Nicole Ogrysko joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin to discuss what other federal workforce policies are tucked inside that 3,400-page bill.

Each of the military armed services has been moving to reduce its numbers of uniformed health care clinicians. The Defense Department wants to partly replace that workforce with civilian doctors and nurses to free up military billets for other missions. But Congress isn’t thrilled with the idea. And as Federal News Network’s Jared Serbu reports, the final agreement on this year’s National Defense Authorization Act throws up a roadblock. Hear more on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

The latest case of federal procurement fraud took place just this month. Ten Department of Veterans Affairs employees in Florida and five outsiders concocted a bribery and kickback procurement operation to defraud the government of millions. Though rare, procurement fraud is a persistent problem. Now a former Air Force procurement official has put together a book on the topic. David Robbins is now a partner at the law firm Crowell and Moring, and he joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin in studio to talk more.

Continued U.S. leadership in nearly every area of science and technology will depend on a sound system of computing resources. That's why the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy has completed an update on the National Strategic Computing Initiative. It's time — given the advent of new and disruptive technologies. The OSTP's Assistant Director for quantum science and Co-Chair of the committee that worked the update, Jake Taylor, joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin to share what's new.

The Army is using other transaction authority to purchase prototypes of tactical vehicles that would be dropped from helicopters. Soldiers would then climb aboard and head to battle. That is a repeat of many old mistakes, according to Mark Thompson. The national security analyst for the Project on Government Oversight joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin for more discussion.

Not all of the national parks encompass millions of acres, or cover mountains and valleys. Some derive their significance from what occurred in that spot. A case in point is the Birmingham, Alabama, Civil Rights and nearby Freedom Riders National monuments. These two are among the newest national parks and now have their first permanent superintendent. Kris Butcher joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin to share more.

The agreement struck in Congress earlier this week on the annual defense policy bill may have some big consequences for civilian federal employees. The bill would grant all federal employees up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave. That's a brand new benefit employee groups and lawmakers have been fighting for over the last decade. The defense policy bill also takes a definitive stance on the Trump administration's proposed merger of the Office of Personnel Management with the General Services Administration. Federal News Network's Nicole Ogrysko joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin for all the details.