Federal Drive with Tom Temin

In one fell swoop, the Court of Federal Claims upended two major governmentwide acquisition contracts from the General Services Administration and almost five years of effort to change the culture of federal contracting. The Court ruled April 21 that GSA’s interpretation of Section 876 of the 2018 Defense Authorization was too broad as applied to the Polaris small business GWAC. The decision, released publicly last Friday, not only forces GSA to pause its efforts on Polaris, but also make a significant change to its strategy for OASIS+, the follow-on multiple award contract for professional services. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Federal retirement tends to stand like a three-legged stool: the FERS annuity, the Thrift Savings Plan and Social Security. But a fourth leg could make for an even sturdier retirement. Good old fashioned Savings Bonds are another instrument federal employees can invest in for their personal savings. Federal News Network's Drew Friedman got more from retired federal manager and financial counselor Abe Grungold. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While federal agencies search endlessly to hire people skilled in cybersecurity, local government might have a different way. How about enlisting volunteers to help protect critical infrastructure from cyber attacks. That's the idea behind a detailed set of recommendations from the law firm McDermott Will & Emery. For more, Federal Drive host Tom Temin spoke with McDermott Will & Emery attorney Mark Schreiber. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Coast Guard has long worked to boost its capabilities of operating in the Arctic, an area of increasing importance to national security. Now the Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate will fund research aimed at helping other DHS components operate in the Arctic. For details, Federal Drive host Tom Temin spoke with Rebecca Medina, Science and Technology Director of the DHS Office of University Programs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For more than a decade, harassment has remained the number one issue in employee discrimination complaints filed against federal agencies. The prevalence of harassment in the federal sector makes it all the more important for agency leaders to commit to implementing effective anti-harassment policies, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said in new recommendations for agencies. “Leadership plays a pivotal role in preventing and correcting harassment,” Marqui Willoughby, an attorney advisor at EEOC, said in an interview with Federal News Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has hired approximately 80 people through the Department of Homeland Security’s new personnel system for cyber personnel, while a new DHS sub-component is now looking to also take advantage of the system. CISA Director Jen Easterly provided the updated numbers during a House Homeland Security cybersecurity and infrastructure protection subcommittee hearing. “We’re at about 80 people with the cyber talent management system, and some really extraordinary talent at this point in time,” Easterly said. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today's episode of the Federal Drive with Tom Temin: It might be frozen, but the Arctic is not locked down. How volunteers could help local governments deal with cyber attacks. The three-legged stool of federal retirement might have a fourth leg. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Bureau of Prisons, an agency of the Justice Department, made two highly visible lists within couple of weeks. It placed at the very bottom of the list of Best Places to Work in the Federal Government, meaning its employees rank it as the worst place. And, it joined the three dozen other programs on the Government Accountability Office's High-Risk List. For why it made the High-Risk List, Federal Drive host Tom Temin spoke with GAO's Director of Homeland Security and Justice Issues, Gretta Goodwin. High-Risk List | U.S. GAO Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The National Geospatial Intelligence Agency picked a systems integrator for a computer vision project. The integrator, CACI, started to develop a proprietary function that a commercial company already offered. You can guess what happened. Everyone ended up in court. For the details on a case underscoring the legal preference for commercial products, Federal Drive host Tom Temin spoke with Haynes Boone procurement attorney Zach Prince. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A new campaign from the Army Reserve looks to reach those that want to serve, but also still strive towards their goals in other career fields. The launch coincides with the Reserve's 115th birthday and includes four films showing how the experience can compliment other careers. Federal Drive Executive Producer Eric White got a chance to speak with Maj. Gen. Alex Fink, Chief of Army Enterprise Marketing, to ask him all about the "It's Your Time" campaign. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today's episode of the Federal Drive with Tom Temin: Looking for a side hustle? The Army Reserve may be an option. A federal court reaffirms the government should look for commercial products before going custom. Why the Bureau of Prisons may be the unhappiest place in America. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Department of Transportation, at the forefront of federal efforts to modernize U.S. infrastructure, aims to ensure cybersecurity is embedded in a wave of historic investments funded through DoT under the bipartisan infrastructure law, but being implemented largely at the state and local levels. Cybersecurity is a top priority for DoT Chief Information Officer Cordell Schachter, he said in a recent interview on the sidelines of the Institute for Critical Infrastructure Technology’s spring conference in Arlington, VA. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today's episode of the Federal Drive with Tom Temin: The Supreme Court looks ready to help out False Claims whistleblowers. There's a call for greater scrutiny of defense officials who transition to the private sector. We'll hear what it could mean for the companies that hire them. Does the Marines new modernization plan go too far? One of its former commandants thinks so. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last week, the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) heard testimony, regarding a so-called "revolving door" between the Pentagon and companies to which it awards contracts. The SASC's Personnel Subcommittee presented a report from Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) on the topic. It expresses concerns about undue influence and the potential ethical dilemmas of having so many former DoD officials working in the private sector. As you can imagine, this has the folks who represent the interests of those companies worried this could be the case of a solution looking for a problem. To hear more about that and other legislative developments, Federal Drive Executive Producer Eric White spoke to Stephanie Kostro, Executive Vice President for Policy at the Professional Services Council. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The U.S. Marine Corps is currently embarking on a restructuring plan know as Force Design 2030. It looks to reshape its combat power for future conflicts with near-peer adversaries, i.e. China. It also looks to put a bit more reliance on technological advances by divesting in the sorts of protective measures it used to rely on for maintaining operational readiness. Some though feel the plan goes too with these updates could potentially lead to the U.S. losing the upper hand on the international stage. One of them is retired Marine general and former Commandant of the Marine Corps Charles Krulak, who spoke with Federal News Network's Eric White about his concerns. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices