Federal Drive with Tom Temin

President Donald Trump's new National Security Strategy pushes the America First ideology. What does that mean for the troops abroad and others on the ground? To find out, Federal News Radio's Scott Maucione checked with several seasoned analysts for their reactions. He shares the details on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

The Christmas season might be fun, if it weren't for all those life-and-death financial decisions you have to make. Especially if you're at or near retirement age. Joining the Federal Drive to help make those tasks a bit easier is retirement expert Tammy Flanagan.

Soon it will be Christmas Day. And it looks as if, narrowly, the government will be open for business next week. It's a busy week on Capitol Hill and we get the latest from Roll Call Senior Editor David Hawkings.

As the Trump administration's plan to modernize federal IT came together, it received broad support from both industry and government. The Modernizing Government Technology Act and the IT Modernization Strategy are two legs of a three-legged stool. But the last piece of this IT modernization puzzle, the newly introduced centers of excellence (CoEs) is where the Trump administration may begin to lose its way. In his weekly feature, the Reporter's Notebook, executive editor Jason Miller tells us why the CoEs are a good idea that may already exist in government.

President Donald Trump, in heating things up for his policy speech on national security, said the military needs to be perfect. What's next for personnel and readiness in 2018? Federal News Radio's Scott Mauscione joins the Federal Drive with what lawmakers and military analysts are talking about for the next year.

The Defense Health Agency is set to take over the management of all of the military's medical treatment facilities by next October. As part of the ramp-up, DHA has been busy building and upgrading its IT infrastructure. The idea is for clinicians to see the exact same desktop at any DoD health facility in the world. The Medical Community of Interest, as it's called, is also paving the way for the department's new electronic health record, MHS Genesis. Col. Kevin Seeley is DHA's acting chief information officer. He talked with Federal News Radio's Jared Serbu about the upgrades.

When you treat 7 million patients a year, it takes a lot of supplies. Last year, the Veterans Affairs Department launched a new program to streamline how it buys medical supplies. But it hasn't worked out as planned. Shelby Oakley, the director of acquisition and sourcing management issues at the Government Accountability Office, explains why.

Federal inspectors general tend to be by-the-book kinds of people. But with constant budget, policy and legal changes hitting federal agencies, what can IGs do to keep up? Carlos Otal, national managing partner for public sector at Grant Thornton, spoke with Federal News Radio's Meredith Somers. He's come up with four steps inspectors general must take to keep adding value to agency operations.

If you're confused about what your agency's actual spending authority is, you've got company. Even if Congress does vote in a budget for the current fiscal year, it's unlikely agencies will spend to that level. For 2019, some odd trends are leaking out from the White House pass-back documents. To help us sort it out, David Berteau, president of the Professional Services Council.

The Trump administration wants to hire 5,000 Border Patrol agents. Something to consider is that over a 10-year period, Border Patrol agents were twice as likely to be terminated for disciplinary infractions or poor performance as their counterparts at Immigration and Customs Enforcement. That's according to Alex Nowrasteh, an immigration policy analyst at the Cato Institute. He spoke with Federal News Radio's Eric White.

Outstanding student loan debt stands at $1.4 trillion. That makes promises to borrowers of easy-outs an attractive scam. Now in a first, the Federal Trade Commission has wrapped up a coordinated effort with officials in 11 states to crack down on deceptive practices like posing as a government agency and offering loan forgiveness in exchange for a fat fee. Michelle Grajales, an FTC staff attorney, coordinated 36 separate enforcement actions in Operation Game of Loans. She talked to Federal News Radios Jared Serbu on Federal Drive with Tom Temin about the crackdown, and what the scams have in common.

The job of the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission and the Labor Department's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs is to make sure employers don't discriminate. But in the technology industry sector, women and some minorities don't appear to be participating in the growth. That's according to the Government Accountability Office. To assess federal oversight rigor, Federal News Radio's Jared Serbu spoke with Cindy Brown Barnes, GAO's director of Education, Workforce and Income issues, on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

Blockchain technology has quickly moved from the little-known to the mainstream. One piece of evidence: It made the Dilbert comic strip this month. At the General Services Administration, blockchain is also making a difference. Before Jose Arrieta left for the Health and Human Services Department, Federal Drive with Tom Temin spoke to Arrieta, the director of contract operations for the IT schedule 70 program at GSA, as part of our series, What's Going on with Blockchain?

The issue of transgender people in the military has been hotly debated for the past six months. Finally it seem like there is some sort of conclusion. Sort of. Federal News Radio's Scott Maucione joins The issue of transgender people in the military has been hotly debated for the past six months. Finally it seem like there is some sort of conclusion. Sort of. Federal News Radios Scott Maucione joins with the latest.

More details are coming out now about the Interior Department's most recent round of Senior Executive Service reassignments. Interior is posting new information about the moves on its Freedom of Information Act online library. And Deputy Secretary David Bernhardt says he reviewed the reassignments and sees the potential for more. Federal News Radio's Nicole Ogrysko has dug through the document sand is here to tells Federal Drive with Tom Temin what she's found.