Federal Drive with Tom Temin

The Patent and Trademark Office recently opened up its annual application period for Patents for Humanity Awards. This program recognizes and honors patent owners or licensees who apply technology to solve humanitarian problems. Bruce Mihalick, marketing coordinator in the Office of Policy and International Affairs at USPTO, joins Federal Drive with Tom Temin with more on this year's program and its goals.

In some ways, the federal government is one of the largest training and education organizations anywhere. As director of the Federal Executive Institute, Suzanne Logan exemplifies this. A lifelong learner and educator, she among the new inductees to the National Academy of Public Administration. She joins Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

Internal Revenue Commissioner John Koskinen bid farewell to the agency after four years in the job. He had a lot to say, including his wishes and some warnings. Federal News Radio's Meredith Somers has more on Federal Drive with Tom Temin

Construction of a border wall in Texas is not a dead issue. In fact, the president is insisting congressional Democrats go along with it if they want an immigration reform bill. That's one of the issues dominating Capitol Hill this week. For more, Federal Drive with Tom Temin turns to David Hawkings, senior editor at Roll Call.

When certain veterans talk about bad paper, they're not talking about the Washington Post or its competitors. They mean their less-than-honorable discharge papers from military service. Bad paper means they can't get help from the Veterans Affairs Department. Now a law firm is helping such veterans with obtaining a discharge upgrade. David Sonenshine, senior staff attorney with the National Veterans Legal Services Program, tells Federal Drive with Tom Temin why bad paper is sometimes badly issued.

When certain veterans talk about bad paper, they're not talking about the Washington Post or its competitors. They mean their less-than-honorable discharge papers from military service. Bad paper means they can't get help from the Veterans Affairs Department. Now a law firm is helping such veterans with obtaining a discharge upgrade. David Sonenshine, senior staff attorney with the National Veterans Legal Services Program, tells Federal Drive with Tom Temin why bad paper is sometimes badly issued.

Shortly after taking office, President Donald Trump called for top-to-bottom overhauls of federal bureaucracies, like the State Department. Secretary Rex Tillerson responded, offering an ambitious plan. But friction with Congress and with others with an interest in State quickly started whittling down Tillerson's proposals. Thomas Hill, a visiting fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution, tells Federal Drive with Tom Temin the reorganization plan looks like a lot of earlier ones, ambitious language but few specifics.

More than two years after the Pentagon set up its Defense Innovation Unit-Experimental as a way to attract innovative, non-traditional businesses, DIU-X has just awarded its first-ever production contract. The agreement gives the cybersecurity company Tanium up to $750 million to provide endpoint security services to the Army and other federal agencies. Ralph Kahn is Tanium's vice president for federal. He talked with Federal News Radios Jared Serbu about the contract and the DIUx process on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

As House and Senate conferees close in on agreement on the 2018 National Defense Authorization bill, the controversial Amazon provision remains in play. It seems likely the final version will look a lot different than the current one. Senators are interested in pruning the language in the final NDAA. In his weekly feature, the Reporters Notebook, Executive Editor Jason Miller writes about how the push to open up online marketplaces may change. He shares the details on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

Both the civilian and defense sides of the government are seeing procurement reforms launched by both the administration and Congress. Where is it all heading? Hundreds of vendors and government managers explored that topic last week. Alan Chvotkin, executive vice president and counsel at the Professional Services Council gives a recap on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

More than 30 federal agencies, civilian and defense, will exhibit at a hiring fair right now in Silver Spring, Maryland The event, sponsored by the CIO Council, focuses on cybersecurity and other technology talent. Margot Conrad, director of education and outreach at the Partnership for Public Service, tells Federal Drive with Tom Temin the exhibit is only part of what the government should be doing to fill its talent gap.

The Department of Agriculture takes on annual wildfire prevention and suppression. Now USDA Secretary Sonny Purdue is enlisting state foresters in the effort to get Congress to change how it funds federal firefighting. This comes as the most expensive wildfire in history is put out. Jaelith Hall-Rivera, acting associate deputy chief of the U.S. Forest Service, shares the details on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

The need for cybersecurity reaches far past the purely information systems. Now organizations must protect their water facilities, heating and air conditioning, and electrical grids. Federal News Radios Scott Maucione spoke with Michael Kilcoyne, chief information officer for the Naval Facilities Engineering Command, on Federal Drive with Tom Temin about the challenges of keeping physical world items cybersafe.

House Democrats are taking the Trump administration to court. Seventeen members of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform filed a lawsuit against the General Services Administration demanding the administrator turn over information related to the Trump Hotel. Federal News Radio's Meredith Somers fills in all the details on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

You've put in your decades for the federal government, and now you're ready to move to the next phase of your life and maybe retire. But working as long as you have, are you really ready to not have a job to do? It's something you need to think hard about, because, as Tammy Flanagan, senior benefits director of the National Institute of Transition Planning,tells Federal News Radio's Eric White on Federal Drive with Tom Temin, it's not just about the income.