Federal Drive with Tom Temin

Federal agencies have plenty of data but until recently they haven’t had the policy leadership needed to maximize its use in day-to-day decision-making. The Trump administration made chief data officers the cornerstone of two major documents: The Federal Data Strategy and the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act. But CDOs face workforce and other resource challenges, as Federal Drive with Tom Temin heard from Federal News Network’s Jory Heckman.

The Trump administration's proposal to merge the Office of Personnel Management with the General Services Administration has been the elephant in the room at OPM for the past year. OPM employees say the proposal alone has generated debilitating uncertainty across the agency. Institutional talent has left, work has been delayed and morale has tanked. Federal News Network spoke with 10 current and former OPM employees as part of a six-month investigation. Workers fear the damage is done, regardless of what happens next with the merger. Nicole Ogrysko and Jason Miller joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin to discuss their story.

More than 30 countries have possession of dangerous nuclear materials like plutonium and enriched uranium. Thanks to the work of my next guest, these materials are safer from theft, diversion or sabotage. Kara De Castro is a management analyst at the National Nuclear Security Administration, and a finalist in this year's Service to America Medals program. She joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin for more discussion of her work.

With everything else going on in the news, you might have missed the emergence of a new independent federal agency. It's called the United States International Development Finance Corporation, or DFC. It a combination of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation and parts of the U.S. Agency for International Development. Karl Fickenscher, deputy assistant administrator for USAID's Bureau for Economic Growth, Education, and Environment, joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin to sort it all out.

The Defense Department’s latest suicide stats are out and active-duty deaths are at a five-year high. Nearly 600 active-duty service members killed themselves in 2018. Stop Soldier Suicide is a nonprofit connecting service members and veterans to mental health services. CEO Chris Ford said DoD can do more to prevent these tragedies. Federal News Network’s Scott Maucione talked with Ford about how childhood issues possibly affect service members proclivity toward suicide. Hear more on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

If your agency is a tenant on an Air Force base, and the Air Force needs the space, you've pretty much got to pick up and move. That was the case for the Customs and Border Protection National Air Security Operations Center. It didn't move far, but it did open up a brand new center, cutting the ribbon just a month ago. National Air Security Operations Center Director W. Hunter Robinson had the details on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

The Office of Personnel Management is out with next year's premium rates for the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program. Employees and retirees will pay an average of 5.6% more toward their health care premiums next year. That's a big bump compared to last year's historically low premium rate increases. Federal News Network's Nicole Ogrysko joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin to break down just how much you'll pay next year, and what other features are coming to the FEHBP.

A picky law known as the Service Contract Labor Standards Act has the potential to make a hash out of an ordinary procurement. That's what the Agriculture Department found out when it tried to buy services on one of the National Institutes of Health governmentwide contract vehicles. Federal Drive with Tom Temin got the particulars from procurement attorney Joseph Petrillo, of Petrillo and Powell.

It’s official now — the governmentwide security clearance program is at the Defense Department. The Office of Personnel Management’s National Background Investigations Bureau is part of the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency. Defense officials said now the real work begins. Federal News Network’s Nicole Ogrysko joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin to explain what went into the security clearance transfer, and what comes next.

You might not be surprised to hear that federal spending on cloud computing is still on the rise. Now researchers at Deltek have quantified that growth. Senior Principal Research Analyst Alex Rossino shared the latest numbers and market dynamics on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

When disasters occur, the Red Cross is among the first of the first responders. It and FEMA are supposed to coordinate with local air providers to make sure victims get what they need. But three hurricanes in 2017 showed the planning and coordination needs a little sharpening. Kathryn Larin is director of Education, Workforce, and Income Security Issues at the Government Accountability Office. She talked about some of those shortcomings on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

When it comes to tracking down billions of dollars in improper payments each year, federal watchdog agencies are fighting to stay one step ahead of fraudsters. That’s often the case with the Department of Health and Human Service’s inspector general office when it goes after Medicare and Medicaid fraud. But through some big-data analytics tools, auditors and investigators have an easier time bringing bogus health care claims to court. Federal News Network’s Jory Heckman had more on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

Executive orders on federal employment, and vigorous union opposition to them, appear to have poisoned relations between federal unions and the Trump administration beyond antidote. Is there any way out? For some long term perspective, Bob Tobias, professor in the Key Executive Leadership program at American University, spoke to Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

Can you hear those footsteps? They’re big, loud and rumbling. It’s Air University’s newly graduated “Godzilla” class. The Officer Training School just graduated 800 new airmen, nearly triple what it usually does in one class. Federal News Network’s Scott Maucione talked with Capt. Ryan Hager, an instructor at the 24th Training Squadron, 2nd Lt. and Godzilla class trainee DeJaye Herrera, and Col. Peter Bailey, commandant of the Officer Training School about the class, why the university took on such a large cohort and how it got to be named after the iconic Japanese monster. Hear more on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

A continuing resolutions means no one is forced to stay at home, neither federal employees nor contractors. And it means commerce continues. But it also limits what agencies can buy or what planned programs it can launch. For how contractors can navigate the next couple of months, federal sales consultant Larry Allen joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin.