Federal Drive with Tom Temin

Astute Facebook users might have known this all along, but apparently a lot of people were fooled by stuff posted by Russians. One response: Facebook is looking to hire people with federal security clearances, who would have access to classified information. Bloomberg reporter Bill Allison has been covering this. He spoke with Federal News Radio's Jared Serbu on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

As the nation tries to deal with opioids, public health officials continue to try and improve how it deals with the old but persistent problem of alcoholism. Now the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, part of NIH, has created a new tool to help alcoholics and those with alcohol use disorder find the care that they need. For more about the Alcohol Treatment Navigator, Federal News Radio's Eric White spoke with the head of NIAAA Dr. George Koob on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee wants to move fast on a bill that would force agencies to think differently about how they track and apply data to every-day work. The Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act has the legs to move forward quickly. House Speaker Paul Ryan is a sponsor. But as Federal News Radio's Nicole Ogrysko tells Federal Drive with Tom Temin, other bills under consideration in the oversight committee might not have the star power to move so fast.

Every year, Blue Star Families releases a survey on the lifestyle of military service members and their families. 2017's survey has some surprises, according to Blue Star Families CEO Kathy Roth-Douquet. The survey put an emphasis this year on how military families feel in their communities, the experience of female service members and the cost to families of members serving in uniform. Roth-Douquet gave Federal News Radio's Scott Maucione a look what kind of results service brass will see in this year's survey on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

On the one hand, the U.S. military is still far-and-away the most powerful fighting force in the world. But compared to the actual missions it's being asked to perform and the range of threats the U.S. faces, it has some areas of weakness, and they're growing weaker. Those are the conclusions of the Heritage Foundation's annual Index of U.S. Military Strength. Tom Spoehr is the director of the Center for National Defense at Heritage. He talked the Federal Drive about the findings of this year's index.

The 2020 Census is still two years out, but the Commerce Department already has its eyes on 2030. To tell us more about what the department says it will do differently in the future, even as it navigates the short-term hurdles for this decennial census, is Federal News Radio's Meredith Somers.

By some estimates, around 90 percent of all data breaches start out as successful email spear phishing attacks. That's one reason the Homeland Security Department issued a binding operational directive two weeks ago ordering all federal agencies to implement an email security standard called DMARC, which effectively blocks scammers from sending mail from spoofed email addresses. Most commercial email providers have already implemented DMARC, but according to a new study by the email security firm Agari, more than 80 percent of federal agencies still haven't. Patrick Peterson is Agari's founder and executive chairman. He spoke with the Federal Drive about how DMARC came to be, and how it can improve an agency's cyber defenses.

Jon Johnson, the director of GSAs enterprise mobility program, said the MSCT now is looking at total cost of ownership for mobile devices and services.

What is the best way to make sure agencies are getting the most out of the data that comes from the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey and other surveys like it? To find out more, Federal News Radio's Eric White spoke with Mallory Barg Bulman, vice president of Research and Evaluation at the Partnership for Public Service, on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

The Modernizing Government Technology Act, by most reckoning, will become law by way of the National Defense Authorization Act. The MGT will give federal chief information officers something they've long wanted a central fund of $3 billion from which they can draw to update obsolete IT systems. Each agency would have its own, smaller modernizing fund. Dave Mader, the former controller of the Office of Management and Budget and now the chief strategy officer for the civilian sector at Deloitte, joins Federal Drive with Tom Temin in studio to discuss the implications.

Federal employees avoided $32 billion in potential cuts to their retirement over 10 years, with last week's House vote. But the latest action from Congress doesn't mean federal employees are out of the clear when it comes to possible changes to their retirement benefits. Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) says he's keeping an eye out on the upcoming tax reform bill from House Republicans. More now from Federal News Radio's Nicole Ogrysko on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

The Army and the Air Force both have chief data officers. But despite recognizing the need for a CDO, the Navy still hasn't created the position. Part of the reason for that is Navy leadership has been dragging its feet on an implantation plan that has been floating around internally for almost a year. Federal News Radio's Scott Maucione joins Federal Drive with Tom Temin to tell us what's in the plan and why it hasn't come to fruition.

From federal land use reform to health care policy to helium regulation, the next couple of weeks are looking to be busy, and at times, contentious on Capitol Hill, particularly in the House. Taking center stage this week is tax policy, as we expect to get our first look at the Houses version of a comprehensive tax reform package. Loren Duggan, editorial director at Bloomberg Government, joins Federal Drive with Tom Temin, with a preview of some of the items making their way toward the House floor.

An independent review by the Government Accountability Office found almost all of the 24 agencies it surveyed are failing to comply with at least one of the key requirements of the Small Business Act. Bill Shear, GAO's director of financial markets and community investment issues, talks to Federal Drive with Tom Temin about the findings, and what agencies can do to improve.

It takes a village to raise a child, and it might take a hurricane to modernize federal information technology systems. The Federal Emergency Management Agency is continuing to help communities recover from the 2017 hurricane season, but FEMA officials said the agency is also taking stock of what worked, what didn't and what it might be able to ask for in terms of updated IT. Federal News Radios Meredith Somers shares the details on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.