Federal Drive with Tom Temin

After years of riding herd on the Census Bureau for getting behind on plans for the 2020 count, now it's Congress falling down on the job. Howard Fienberg is co-director of the Census Project and said that without full-year, requested appropriations, the bureau will be hobbled. And 2020 is fast approaching. Fienberg joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin for more details.

Imagine a federal acquisition process that is frictionless. No needless administrative red tape, no jumping through hoops to try something new or different. And most importantly, imagine an environment where industry and agencies can communicate without fear of violating a rule buried in a 2,000-page document. This frictionless procurement environment is the goal of Michael Wooten, the new administrator of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy. In his weekly feature, the Reporter’s Notebook Federal News Network Executive Editor Jason Miller delved into Wooten’s ideas and how this concept of a frictionless has already begun. Miller joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin to discuss more.

The Public Health Service, a branch of the Department of Health and Human Services, is tasked with responding to disease outbreaks, caring for prisoners and responding to natural disasters. Congress decided the service needed a reserve corps years ago, but legislative issues kept the reserve from starting. This year Congress is trying to fix that. Federal News Network’s Scott Maucione talked with John McElligott, deputy executive director of the Commissioned Officers Association of the U.S. Public Health Service, about new bicameral, bipartisan legislation. Hear more details on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

For years, contractors have chafed under an executive order former President Barack Obama signed as one of his earliest actions. Known as the "nondisplacement order," it required companies winning follow-on or successor contracts to give first right-of-refusal employment offers to people working on the incumbent contractor. President Donald Trump revoked it late last week. The President and CEO of the Professional Services Council, David Berteau, joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin for what services contractors are thinking.

With the impeachment proceedings growing wider and deeper, career feds are wondering if they'll ever see a 2020 budget. Constituents wonder if Congress will pay any attention to the basic needs of the nation. With analysis of the current state of affairs, Fulcrum editor in chief David Hawkings.

Under rules that went into effect this summer, federal agencies are barred from buying telecommunications equipment from Chinese companies that policymakers see as untrustworthy. But the ban hasn’t touched private networks – at least not yet. The FCC is considering rules that would give it more authority to decide what network gear is and isn’t allowed in the U.S. marketplace. Federal News Network’s Jared Serbu has the details.

After 15 months of brainstorming and gathering feedback from the public, the Defense Innovation Board has a better understanding of both the promises and threats of artificial intelligence. It identified the thorniest problems that artificial intelligence could cause. Chief among the board's concerns is how to build a reliable off-switch into every AI system so it can't run amok. Federal News Network's Jory Heckman has the details.

Vendors have two extra weeks to tell the General Services Administration how they would run an e-commerce platform. The bid deadline extension comes after industry submitted more than 70 questions to GSA about its solicitation for the congressionally-mandated commercial-like online buying portal. Laura Stanton is GSA’s deputy assistant commissioner for category management in the Office of IT Category in the Federal Acquisition Service. She tells executive editor Jason Miller about how GSA is moving from theory to proof of concept for the e-commerce platform.

The Air Force is deep into an experiment called Pilot Training Next. It uses virtual reality, artificial intelligence and biometrics to train fighter pilots more effectively and faster. For helicopter pilots, the Air Force 23rd Flying Training Squadron built its own training next program. Federal News Network’s Scott Maucione spoke with Captain Jarrod Huffman, a rotary wing next officer, Captain Matt Strick, innovation flight commander, and Lieutenant Colonel Jake Brittingham, 23rd Flying Training Squadron commander.

The Bureau of the Fiscal Service's activities and scope are crucial to federal operations, yet it remains obscure to most feds. Its Commissioner, Timothy Gribben, is a respected finance professional with both government and private sector experience. Now he's been named a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration. Gribben joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin to talk about his work.

The resignation of Kevin McAleenan has acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security has brought up the question of acting officials and the Federal Vacancies Reform Act. The law places restrictions on how a president can fill openings temporarily. The Trump administration might be running afoul of that law. Attorney Debra D'Agostino of the Federal Practice Group joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin for an analysis.

The JEDI cloud computing contract might be the most visible IT project for the Defense Department. But a perhaps more ambitious one is the new records systems under construction at the Defense Health Agency. Recently the program office rolled out a new wave of installations at Travis Air Force Base, Idaho. As DoD rolls outs is new electronic health records one installation at a time, clinicians will still need to access data from the legacy system. For an update on this multi-year project, Federal Drive with Tom Temin spoke with Bill Tinston, the program executive officer at the Defense Healthcare Management Systems office, and Air Force Maj. Gen. Lee Payne, a physician and assistant director for combat support at DHA.

Lawmakers across the aisle say they're deeply disturbed by recent inspector general findings about the accountability office at the Department of Veterans Affairs. The IG said VA's Office of Accountability and Whistleblower Protection failed to live up to its name. It often misinterpreted its statutory mission. And the IG said it failed to protect whistleblowers, sometimes itself retaliating against VA employees. The leader of VA's accountability office said she's making changes to the organization. Federal News Network's Nicole Ogrysko had more details on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

Labor negotiations at the Social Security Administration have been a mixed bag over the last year. The bulk of unionized employees have a new agreement, but only after some tough ruling by the Federal Labor Relations Authority. The agency's administrative law judges, who have their own union, say they are encouraged by the FLRA's findings. Association of Administrative Law Judges president Melissa McIntosh joined the show with the latest.

Support contracts are all about the people the contractor bids, their qualifications and experience. Sometimes contractors need to find and hire the people necessary for a successful bid. In one case, though, the Air Force gave a bidder a couple of days to do what can take a couple of months. With more on this protest case, procurement attorney Joseph Petrillo of Petrillo and Powell joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin.