Federal Drive with Tom Temin

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. For an update on this multi-year project, we spoke with Bill Tinsto, the Program Executive Officer at the Defense Healthcare Management Systems office and Air Force Major General Lee Payne is a physician and assistant director for combat support at the Defense Health Agency. The first voice you hear is Major General Payne.

Federal research agencies helped put a man on the moon, and laid the foundations for the internet. That was all a half century ago. White House data shows the government has taken a backseat to private-sector investments in research and development, with only one in three R&D dollars now coming from federal sources. Now the National Institute of Standards and Technology has launched a plan to enable more public-private arrangements in science and technology research. Federal News Network’s Jory Heckman had more on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

The Defense Department stood up the Defense Innovation Unit, or DIU, in 2015. It sought to pair military planners with Silicon Valley-type companies. After a finicky start, the agency caught on and started awarding contracts. But even though it found some successes, DIU has its skeptics in Congress. They worry it doesn’t have enough direction or spends without getting a final product. DIU is now out with its first long-term metrics. They cover the two and a half years. Federal News Network’s Scott Maucione spokes with Michael Madsen, DIU director of strategic engagement, about the numbers and what they mean for the unit’s future. Hear more on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

For the past 10 years, the Wounded Warrior Project's Annual Warrior Survey has gauged the status of US veterans and how well the services meant to care for them are doing. This year's results came out Wednesday. For what's in it, Federal News Network's Eric White spoke with the Project's Director of Metrics, Melanie Mousseau, on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

The Defense Department stood up the Defense Innovation Unit, or DIU, in 2015. It sought to pair military planners with Silicon Valley-type companies. After a finicky start, the agency caught on and started awarding contracts. But even though it found some successes, DIU has its skeptics in Congress. They worry it doesn’t have enough direction or spends without getting a final product. DIU is now out with its first long-term metrics covering two and a half years. Federal News Network’s Scott Maucione spoke with Michael Madsen, DIU director of strategic engagement, about the numbers and what they mean for the unit’s future. Hear more on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

Today's confirmation hearing for the next inspector general of the Environmental Protection Agency could be a difficult one. Sean O'Donnell's predecessor had his hands full with former EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt. Members of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee have plenty of questions for O'Donnell. For more, Federal News Network's Eric White spoke with E&E News reporter Kevin Bogardus on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

Feds working out there in the nation's parks and forests face special dangers including potential assault and murder attempts. But agency managers don't have a good handle on the numbers or types of incidents, nor do they have an adequate safety plan. For more, Federal News Network turned to the director of the natural resources and environment team at the Government Accountability Office, Anne-Marie Fennell.

The Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board is reconsidering a decision it made two years ago about its international fund, or I fund. The Thrift Savings Plan was on track to move the I fund to a new index that tracked Canada, emerging markets and China. But a bipartisan group of senators are pushing back on that plan. Federal News Network’s Nicole Ogrysko joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin to discuss the debate and walk through some details on how participants are using the new TSP withdrawal options.

Contractors feel they have a lot of good ideas for how the Defense Department can become more efficient. But many of them are getting the feeling that staff reductions in the administrative side of the Pentagon means no one has the time to hear from industry. For more on this thinking, Federal Drive with Tom Temin turned to long-time federal sales consultant Larry Allen.

Some may have heard early reports of success from the government's cybersecurity reskilling program. Yet so far, of the 50 graduates only one has found a new job in government using their new skills. Margaret Weichert, deputy director for the Office of Management and Budget, said the reason for that is the rigid General Schedule system. In his weekly feature, the Reporter's Notebook, Federal News Network Executive Editor Jason Miller wrote about why making the government more agile, by revamping the GS system, should be the Trump administration's top management priority over the next year. He joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin to discuss further.

The General Services Administration is following a simple mantra to guide its agencywide modernization effort: Eliminate, optimize and automate. So far in just the Public Buildings Service alone, the EOA approach has saved almost $2 billion with a goal of saving $5 billion by 2024. GSA Administrator Emily Murphy told Federal News Network Executive Editor Jason Miller about how PBS achieved those savings and where the agency is heading next to find more. Hear the story on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

The two-year procurement saga known as the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure, or JEDI, has been awarded, but it's far from over. The Defense Department picked Microsoft for its infrastructure cloud computing environment in a surprise decision late last week. But the 10-year contract that could be worth as much as $10 billion remains veiled in drama.Federal News Network's Jason Miller and Jared Serbu have been following JEDI since the beginning and they both joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin for the latest.

You can find a lot to complain about regarding USAJobs.gov and the federal hiring process. How about this — only half of the job postings on USAJobs for technical or IT positions actually end in a hire. And that's a waste of time for agency hiring managers. The Office of Personnel Management and U.S. Digital Service said something's wrong with this picture. They teamed up to test a new approach to hiring. The Trump administration sees promise, and urged other agencies to adopt it. Federal News Network's Nicole Ogrysko joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin to walk listeners through the pilot.

The Army has nearly 300 bases around the world, and just about all of them are overdue for IT infrastructure upgrades. Probably the roofs, too. But modernizing each of those installations all at once would rack up a bigger bill than the Army’s willing to pay. So, as Federal News Network’s Jared Serbu reported, officials say it’s time to prioritize. Hear more on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

People might have missed it in a busy season of budgets, baseball and bickering, but the White House earlier this month issued two executive orders. They follow on earlier ones ordering federal agencies to alter their approach to regulation, with a focus on guidance documents. Eric Crusius, partner at law firm Holland and Knight, joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin for more on what it means.