Federal Drive with Tom Temin

You might be surprised to learn that the Coast Guard Search and Rescue Mission employs only one oceanographer. But what a heck-of-an oceanographer he is. After years of detailed study of how vessels drift in coastal waters, he pioneered a computer modeling program. It enables the Coast Guard to rescue people more quickly and efficiently. Now that oceanographer is a finalist in this year's Service to America Medals program. Art Allen joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin to talk about his work.

After a decades-long hiatus, NASA is looking again toward landing people on the moon. Since that first landing 50 years ago, knowledge of medical science has advanced a lot. NASA astronaut and flight surgeon Dr. Serena Auñón-Chancellor joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin to discuss what we know now and how it will help distant space travel.

The Office of Legal Counsel within the Justice Department has quietly exerted opinions on laws that Congress may never have had in mind. That's what the Project on Government Oversight (POGO) said it found after an extensive Freedom of Information Act request. POGO investigator Daniel Van Schooten joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin to share more details.

Furloughs for employees at the Office of Personnel Management are on the table if Congress does not agree to advance the administration's proposed merger with the General Services Administration. The Trump administration went to Capitol Hill last week to describe a dire financial situation for OPM. Officials named furloughs as one of the administration's near-term impossible choices if lawmakers don't go along with the merger. But as Federal News Network's Nicole Ogrysko reported, the typical year-end budget chaos could also put OPM in financial jeopardy. Hear more on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

The Agriculture Department has walked back its decision to close more than a third of the Forest Service's vocational training centers, and move the rest to the Labor Department. USDA leadership's change of course occurred after bipartisan pushback in Congress and even President Donald Trump. But the future of the program remains unclear. Federal News Network's Jory Heckman had more details on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

A recent court case showed the consequences of using a contractor who had less than optimal cybersecurity, but who represented themselves to the government as being up to snuff. Every Defense contractor ought to know about this one, and attorney Robert Metzger, a partner at Rogers Joseph O'Donnell and co-author of the Mitre Deliver Uncompromised Report, joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin in the studio for the details.

The Air Force's long-running aerial refueling tanker is three years behind schedule. But because of the way it structured the deal, the cost is less than the original estimates and contractor Boeing takes most of the risk. The Government Accountability Office thinks the Air Force ought to share the lessons learned from its contracting approach. GAO's Acting Director for Contractor and National Security Acquisition Issues, Jon Ludwigson, joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin for more details.

Leadership at the Agriculture Department has spoken, and Kansas City is the choice to move employees at the Economic Research Service and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Employees are getting their reassignment letters. USDA wants the workforce to start moving as early as next month. But employees at ERS' new union have demanded to bargain over USDA's decision. Federal News Network's Nicole Ogrysko joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin to break down the department's decision to relocate to Kansas City.

The Pentagon has fired its first salvo in a crackdown on what it’s officials have called price gouging in the military spare parts market. In a highly unusual move, top procurement officials are targeting one particular company: TransDigm. They’re telling Defense Department contracting officers to demand extra pricing documentation whenever they deal with that company or its subsidiaries. Federal News Network’s Jared Serbu has been following the TransDigm story for the last several months, and he’s here to talk about the latest.

Members of the American Federation of Government Employees are steaming at a decision by the Federal Service Impasses Panel. It mostly ruled against them in a landmark negotiation with the Social Security Administration. Federal unions are generally crabby about HR initiatives from the Trump administration. Bob Tobias, professor in the Key Executive Leadership program at American University, joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin in the studio for some possible ways ahead.

The federal government has more real estate than it knows what to do with, but getting rid of excess property hasn't been easy. Now new help has arrived. It takes the form of a tiny new independent agency, the Public Buildings Reform Board. The board held its first meeting to discuss ways to save billions over the next few years. Federal News Network's Jory Heckman attended that meeting. He joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin with the latest updates.

Wildfires and rising sea levels create a risk for military bases. Now the Government Accountability Office says the Defense Department’s installations lack the resilience to combat and recover from extreme events. Federal News Network’s Scott Maucione spoke with Diana Maurer, Director of GAO’s Defense Capabilities and Management, about what Defense officials need to do.

People in Washington often consider D.C. the capital of the universe. In some ways it might be, but for the federal government, most of the employees live and work throughout the country. That brings up the question of how leadership in Washington can make sure far flung employees stay engaged. The Boston Consulting Group and the Partnership for Public Service have published some advice on that. Partnership's director for Federal Workforce Programs, Margot Conrad, joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin with details.

The Office of Congressional Workplace Rights was tasked by Congress to develop a modernized process for alternative dispute resolution. It has done so, within the 180-day deadline. Susan Tsui Grundmann, executive director of the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights, joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin to discuss how it works and how they developed it.

The administrative law judges at the Social Security Administration have asked the brand new commissioner, Andrew Saul, to suspend negotiations with their union on a new collective bargaining agreement. At issue is who reports to whom. The president of the Association of Administrative Law Judges, Melissa McIntosh, joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin to sort it all out.