Federal Drive with Tom Temin

With professional services growing as a percentage of federal contract dollars, agencies pay close attention to whom its bidders are offering. Some recent protest cases show how important it is to handle the people part of bids carefully. Procurement attorney Joseph Petrillo of Petrillo and Powell offered more insight on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

After a long acquisition process, the FirstNet Authority in 2017 awarded the contract for a nationwide, first responder-dedicated communications network to AT&T. AT&T uses 20 megahertz of old television spectrum and will operate FirstNet for at least 25 years. In part three of this series, FirstNet Update, Federal Drive with Tom Temin got a progress report from Stacy Schwartz, AT&T's vice president for public safety and FirstNet.

Among recipients of the 2019 Presidential Early Career Awards for Science was Dr. Ed O'Brien from Penn State University. Speaking with Federal News Network's Eric White, O'Brien explained how his research into cellular protein structures could impact the biotech and pharmaceutical fields. Hear the background on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

Don’t break out the party hats quite yet, but the results in the latest Federal Information Security Modernization Act (FISMA) report to Congress does deserve some celebrating. The Office of Management and Budget said for the first time agencies suffered from no major cyber incidents in 2018. On top of that, agencies also saw fewer overall cyber attacks last year. Federal News Network’s Executive Editor Jason Miller had the details about why agencies deserve a little pat on the back for their cyber efforts. Hear more on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

Another day, another lawsuit. The American Federation of Government Employees is suing the Federal Service Impasses Panel over a decision the group made back in May. The panel's ruling rewrote a portion of the union's collective bargaining contract with the Social Security Administration. AFGE argues that ruling is invalid because the panel itself didn't have enough members. Federal News Network's Nicole Ogrysko joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin to discuss the latest lawsuit and its significance.

The U.S. Forest Service, part of the Agriculture Department, has been exploring new ways to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act. Proposed rules are still open for comments. For details, the director of ecosystem management coordination at the Forest Service, Christine Dawe, joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

The Department of Health and Human Services’ Program Support Center's decision to shut down its assisted acquisition services isn’t just hurting agency customers during one of the busiest fourth quarters in recent memory. HHS determination that it can’t transfer existing contracts back to customer agencies will reverberate over the next year, causing inconvenience at best and mission degradation at worst. In his weekly feature, the Reporter's Notebook, Federal News Network Executive Editor Jason Miller has fresh news on the situation at HHS that is putting more than $1 billion in contracts at risk. He joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin for more explanation.

The FirstNet emergency communications network is not just for local police and fire departments. The federal government's first responders and disaster recovery agencies also need the network. In fact, they maintain membership on the FirstNet governance board. For more details in the second part of this series, FirstNet Update, Federal Drive with Tom Temin spoke to Ron Hewitt, the assistant director of the emergency communications division at the Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. The conversation started with the big idea of a network beyond voice communication.

Federal employees new to management often turn to a relatively small component of the Office of Personnel Management. The Center for Leadership Development helps newly minted managers with common challenges. For an update, Federal News Network's Jared Serbu spoke with Jennifer Wong, program director of OPM's Eastern Management Development Center. Hear more on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

The battleground for 5G is set and some federal officials are concerned the U.S. might be losing. Chinese companies like Huawei and ZTE are putting down deep roots in the commercial world. The Pentagon’s top scientist said last week that the military will be investing more in 5G development. Federal News Network’s Scott Maucione had the latest on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

You map your car trips but now federal buying officers have to start mapping their spending outcomes. And there's only one place to buy the tools needed. Larry Allen, managing director at BDO, joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin to discuss what's going on and what it means to contractors.

Agencies have been hiring chief data officers to help with efforts at evidence-based policymaking. CDOs have to get along with chief information officers. For advice on keeping everyone focused on the goal, Federal News Network's Jory Heckman spoke with Nick Hart, the CEO of the Data Coalition and former policy and research director for the Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking. Hear more on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

Over the last few years, a more than 20-year, federally-led effort to establish a national, first responders communications network has moved from endless planning to reality. For this first of a four-part series on FirstNet, Federal Drive with Tom Temin checked in with Jeff Bratcher, chief technology and operations officer, who is also is performing the executive functions of the CEO at FirstNet.

After months of back and forth with Congress, the Navy Department has decided on a way forward for how it’ll restructure its management of IT and cybersecurity. Officials said they’re about to name a new special assistant to the secretary of the Navy who will also serve as the department’s chief information officer. Federal News Network’s Jared Serbu had more details on the new structure, and what Navy officials hope to achieve with it, on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

The San Ysidro Land Port of Entry is the busiest land border crossing facility in the Western Hemisphere. The port, on the border with Mexico, has undergone a big expansion that speeds things up and helps Customs and Border Protection carry out its inspections. For a progress report, Federal Drive with Tom Temin turned to the General Services Administration. Anthony Kleppe is GSA Region 9 Land Port of Entry Program manager, and he had more details on the project.