Federal Drive with Tom Temin

Budget talks in Congress are in suspended animation this week because of the 4th of July recess. When members return, they will have only three weeks until the August recess. For a recap of the sticking points, Federal Drive Host Tom Temin spoke with WTOP Capitol Hill Correspondent Mitchell Miller. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The PACT Act, which became law in 2022, aims to help veterans who were exposed to toxins. Since June 3, it has sparked more than 625,000 new claims. For how the agency is dealing with the caseload, Federal Drive Host Tom Temin spoke with Josh Jacobs, the Department of Veterans Affairs Undersecretary for Benefits. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Artificial intelligence seems to be overturning every part of life. How about this one: AI and its country cousin, machine learning, working together to develop new drugs. To see how AI can help and what some of the risks might be, Federal Drive Host Tom Temin spoke with the Food and Drug Administration's Associate Director for Policy Analysis, within the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, Dr. Tala Fakhouri. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today's episode of the Federal Drive with Tom Temin: The FDA ponders whether artificial intelligence can help with drug approval. How the Veterans Benefits Administration is coping with Pact Act claims. Congress is gone until next week, but the budget questions drone on. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Almost 33,000 federal civilian employees are a step closer to a bigger pay raise in 2024, after the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) published a proposal to establish four new locality-pay areas for the General Schedule. OPM’s proposed rule, added to the Federal Register Wednesday, comes after the President’s Pay Agent in December approved recommendations from the Federal Salary Council to establish the four new locality pay areas. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today's episode of The Federal Drive with Tom Temin: What do people *really* mean when they say government should operate like a business? VA's Inspector General has become an enduring presence among IG's Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When the nearly endless debates over the debt ceiling were raging on, the United States didn't look very businesslike to the rest of the world. Internally, though, you never stop hearing that federal agencies should operate more like a business. This is both true and not true, according to my next guest. The Federal Drive got commentary from American University professor Bob Tobias. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After seven years on the job, Michael Missal is one of the senior inspectors general. He joined Veterans Affairs as IG early in the second Obama administration. He joined the Federal Drive with a progress report.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The State Department put a spotlight on one of the Biden administration’s top federal workforce priorities, when it named its first chief diversity and inclusion officer. The department since then has launched new fellowships, and made changes to how it screens applicants joining the Foreign Service. Now State’s Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer is stepping down after more than two years on the job. For a retrospective, Federal News Network’s Jory Heckman spoke Ambassador Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Improving the quality of life and careers for women soldiers. That's the goal of a new new Army advisory group advocating for women soldiers. The Women's Initiative Team will hold its first meeting in August. Federal News Network’s Alexandra Lohr joined the Federal Drive with details. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today's episode of The Federal Drive with Tom Temin: This federal lawyer got a settlement from a powerful industry after a 20-year dispute Health and Human Services tries speaking in many languages How the Air Force secrets leaker could end up getting away with it Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jack Teixeira, the Air National Guard member, recently joined a long list of military and civilian employees who blithely gave away classified documents. A federal judge let Teixeira hire a private attorney with experience in national security cases. Joining the Federal Drive with analysis of what this might mean, Tully Rinckey managing partner Dan Meyer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When you hit that convenience store for a pack of smokes, you might notice the warning sign. That's thanks to my next guest. She produced a settlement in a long running dispute with the tobacco industry about retail signage. For her tenacity and skill, she's a finalist in this year's Service to America Medals program. The assistant director of the consumer protection branch of the Justice Department, Lisa Hsiao, joined the Federal Drive to discuss further. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The reality in America is that millions don't speak English, or English is not their first language. The Health and Human Services Department studied its own efforts to make information and services available to non-English speakers, as part of compliance with the Biden Administration's Executive Order 13-985 on racial equity. With what it found, the director of HHS's Office for Civil Rights, Melanie Fontes Rainer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With higher salaries on the horizon, attrition is way down at the Transportation Security Administration. But TSA’s top official says a House funding bill would force the agency to reverse forthcoming pay increases for non-screening employees like air marshals and canine handlers. Federal News Network’s Justin Doubleday joins me with the latest.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices