Federal Drive with Tom Temin

The Small Business Administration might be a small agency but it has outsize influence over the economy. The pandemic highlighted shortcomings in the SBA, including constituents' access to credit, customer service, and entrepreneurial development. That's according to a task force convened by The Bipartisan Policy Center. And it has a list of recommendations for reform. Joining me with more, the task force co-chairs. Former SBA associate administrator in the Office of Capital Access, Ann Marie Mehlum and the former chief of staff and chief operating officer, Pradeep Belur. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Federal hiring managers view sector-wide shakeups in the private sector, especially the tech sector, as an opportunity to grab some talent for public service. Agencies are joining forces with state and local governments to pitch that idea of public service career in public service to displaced techies. Those agencies held a recent “Tech to Gov” virtual job fair, to help some hires while interest is high. Federal News Network’s Jory Heckman spoke with a senior advisor for the Office of Personnel Management’s Hiring Experience Group, Kyleigh Russ. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today's episode of the Federal Drive with Tom Temin: Both houses of Congress are churning out appropriations bills, believe it or not A business plan for reform of the Small Business Administration Data science drives big changes at the Bureau of Fiscal Service Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today's episode of the Federal Drive with Tom Temin: An in-depth (2-part) review of federal efforts to improve citizen experience and reduce administrative burden. Higher interest rates have dampened mergers and acquisitions in the defense market. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Defense industrial base is always a concern for the Pentagon. It worries both about capacity and whether it has a competitive market. That's why planners keep an eye on mergers and acquisitions aka M-and-A. M-and-A activity is highly sensitive to interest rates. For insight on what to expect now that the federal reserve rate is 5%, Federal Drive Host Tom Temin spoke with Venable law firm partner Joseph Schmelter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

No American would stand on a soap box and shout out how easy it is to deal with the federal government. A small office deep within the White House apparatus has been coaxing agencies to reduce what's officially known as administrative burden on citizens, things like difficult forms, procedures for getting on airplanes, obtaining a loan. The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) has a progress report on the year-old effort. To find out more, Federal Drive Host Tom Temin spoke with OIRA's associate administrator, Sam Berger. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When the Department of Homeland Security launched the Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation program a little over a decade ago, it represented a major shift in how federal agencies managed cyber risks on their networks. Instead of doing it alone, DHS would provide tools so agencies could “continuously” monitor their networks for assets and risks. But the CDM program’s initial focus would hardly be considered “operational” today, according to Michael Duffy, the associate director of capacity building at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The 2003 crash of the Space Shuttle Columbia sparked big changes at NASA. That's when its Engineering and Safety Center got established, in order to provide safety oversight and a culture more attuned to safety. Federal Drive Host Tom Temin's guest was the lead guy for the Engineering and Safety Center, and he's a finalist in this year's Service to America Medals program, the Sammies. He's Ralph Roe, Jr., NASA's former Chief Engineer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It only took six years, but now the Homeland Security Department has new regulations covering how contractors must handle CUI, controlled, unclassified information. Better get ready. They go into effect later this month. The find out how you might need to prepare, Federal Drive Host Tom Temin spoke with Holland and Knight attorney Eric Crusius. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Navy's carriers and submarines might be the most technically sophisticated in the world. But they're also the most expensive. And, Federal Drive Host Tom Temin's guest argues that they also might not be the most effective in dealing with the rise of China. Dan Grazier, a military fellow at the Project on Government Oversight (POGO), contends that alternative strategies and technology exist. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today's episode of the Federal Drive with Tom Temin: Why the U.S. should consider a completely different military strategy to deal with China Homeland Security is finally off the dime with regulations on sensitive information Meet the man who transformed NASA, no less. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Following weeks of return-to-office announcements, yet another agency has made its plans clear to currently teleworking employees. But this time, the National Science Foundation has drawn negative attention from its union. NSF leaders made a return-to-office announcement to staff members Friday, prior to negotiating or reaching an agreement on telework with the American Federation of Government Employees, the federal union said. Starting in October, all telework-eligible NSF employees and Intergovernmental Personnel Act (IPA) employees stationed at agency headquarters will have to work in the office at least four days per two-week pay period, NSF leaders said in an all-staff email, obtained by Federal News Network. The changes do not apply to employees eligible for remote work or those with an approved remote work agreement. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With the calendar year half over, it's a good time to review your financial life. For people in the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program (FEHB), open season isn't far off. For a few housekeeping tips to keep in mind at this mid-year point, Federal Drive Host Tom Temin spoke with financial adviser Abe Grungold. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The most talked-about Government Accountability Office (GAO) report confirmed what a lot of people suspected: Federal offices are largely unoccupied, a continuation of the situation during the pandemic. Federal Drive Host Tom Temin spoke to the man behind the report: GAO's Acting Director of Physical Infrastructure, David Marroni. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An old saying goes like this: "If it moves, tax it. If it moves too fast, regulate it. If it stops moving, subsidize it." Well, Artificial Intelligence is in that fast-moving stage, but no one seems to quite have any sense of how or even why to regulate it. Federal Drive Host Tom Temin's guest has a few clues: Dr. Charles Clancy, the Senior Vice President and General Manager of MITRE Labs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices