Federal Drive with Tom Temin

On today's episode of the Federal Drive with Tom Temin: A nearby state undertakes regulatory reform officials think would work in Washington This new technology has the whole nation hallucinating It's out, a procurement rule banning contractors from using Tik-Tok Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

85% of the federal workforce operates outside the nation’s capital. That’s why the government has Federal Executive Boards – or FEBs. The decades-old program helps coordinate and communicate among agency headquarters and field offices, for things like snow days and other emergencies. But the 28 Boards across the country also manage mentoring and training programs – and much more for the federal workforce. Federal News Network’s Drew Friedman got the latest from Anita Spinner, the director of FEB's at the Office of Personnel Management. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Federal Acquisition Regulation Council earlier this month issued something the procurement community had been expecting. An interim rule that bans the Tik-Tok app from certain contractor devices. Joining the Federal Drive to explain the implications, Haynes and Boone partner Zach Prince. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The baby boomers used LSD to hallucinate. Nowadays people use generative artificial intelligence to hallucinate, to create misinformation that seems credible. Now the Government Accountability Office has published a detailed study of generative AI and its implications. The Federal Drive got more now from the GAO's director of science and technology assessment, Brian Bothwell. https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-23-106782?utm_campaign=usgao_email&utm_content=daybook&utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Virginia officials under Republican Governor Glen Youngkin have launched a reform of the state's regulatory system. The new Office of Regulatory Management covers all agencies. It requires them to do detailed economic reviews of proposed regulations. Joining the Federal Drive with the details, the deputy director of the new office, Reeve Bull. https://www.theregreview.org/2023/02/20/bull-virginia-charts-a-path-forward-on-regulatory-modernization/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Labor Department has more than 500 business applications. All that software needs constant care. And Mangala Kuppa, the director of business application services in the CIO’s office, leads the caretaker effort. Kuppa, who was a finalist for the 2023 leadership award from Women in Technology, tells Federal News Network's executive editor Jason Miller about consolidation and rising use of shared services. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today's episode of The Federal Drive with Tom Temin: Why the debt ceiling deal is not quite the defense windfall it seems to be USDA modernizes an important research facility with a whole new building What Congress wants Defense to look like in 2024 takes shape Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

House Armed Services committees at last voted out their bills for 2024 last week. The Senate Armed Services Committee released a statement of intent. For one view of how things are shaping up, the Federal Drive turned to the president and CEO of the Professional Services Council, David Berteau. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nobody loved the deal Congress worked out to raise the debt ceiling. But it did avoid default and gives a spending blueprint for fiscal 2024. It's not quite the defense bonanza it appeared to be, according to my next guest. Elaine McCusker, who is a senior fellow at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, joined the Federal Drive to explain. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Agricultural Research Service has broken ground on a big new facility at the University of Kentucky. It's known as the Forage-Animal Production Research Unit. For what will happen there, we turn to the ARS Research Leader for forage animals, Michael Flythe. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is out with fresh guidance for how agencies can secure widely used business applications like email and productivity tools. CISA hopes to help agencies develop better visibility into both the cyber threats and security gaps lurking on their networks. For more, Federal News Network’s Justin Doubleday, spoke with CISA’s cyber shared services manager, Chad Poland.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Department of Veterans Affairs has tried twice before to replace its aging financial management IT system. Both attempts failed. But the third try could be the charm: the current project, called ITAMS, is mostly on track. Lawmakers say they’re determined to make sure it stays that way. That’s partly because nearly $4 billion are at stake, and partly because VA can’t afford to keep using its 30-year-old legacy system. Federal News Network’s Jared Serbu has details. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today's episode of the Federal Drive with Tom Temin: DoD dishes out its latest batch of awards for unique research projects It's no small task to resettle the children flowing past the nation's borders Capitol Hill monitors enter a wait and see period Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Congress has gone into a two week recess, however the entirety of the debt ceiling debate took up a lot of time that could've been used to address other confirmations and hearings. So that mean it's going to be a busy summer once members return. To discuss what's on tap, the Federal Drive turned to Bloomberg Government's Loren Duggan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last month, the Defense Department announced $18 million in Defense Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research or DEPSCoR awards to 28 academic teams. The teams hail from all parts of the country and the competition aims to help introduce potential researchers to DoD’s unique research challenges and supportive research ecosystem. To find out more about how it works, the Federal Drive got the chance to talk to Dr. Bindu Nair, Director of DoD’s Basic Research Office and DEPSCoR Program Manager Dr. Jennifer Becker. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices