Federal Drive with Tom Temin

It’s been a little over three years since Congress created a dedicated military service to focus on space. Lawmakers are wondering whether it’s time to do the same thing for cyber. The Defense Department hasn’t yet taken a position on that question – officials say they’re still studying the topic of military cyber force design. But as Federal News Network’s Jared Serbu reports, some members of Congress are getting impatient. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You almost take for granted it'll take months, probably years to get through a background investigation for serving in government. People in the national security apparatus want to cut that down to weeks, at least for most applications. The White House has also set ambitious new timelines for personnel vetting. Federal News Network’s Justin Doubleday reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Department of Veterans Affairs’ troubled rollout of a new Electronic Health Record always had its critics. The same could be said of the VA’s three previous efforts to wean itself off the legacy, purpose-built EHR the agency developed about 40 years ago. But congressional scrutiny is intensifying over the VA’s latest effort, a multibillion-dollar contract with Oracle-Cerner. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today's episode of The Federal Drive with Tom Temin: What does the future of copyright law look like now that AI can churn out content?  A new program to help Border Patrol agents deal with the stress of the job. Is Congress even capable of thinking rationally about spending? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

ChatGPT, Anyword, Midjourney. These are among the most popular content generators powered by Artificial Intelligence. But when there's no human hand behind the creation, what rights does the user of an AI tool have when it comes to copyrighting those sometimes strange images and writings? Well to help answer some of those questions, the U.S. Copyright Office is launching a new initiative to lay out just where its policies stand, and to also hear from the people using generative AI technologies. Federal News Network's Eric White go a chance to speak with Andrew Foglia, Deputy Director of Policy and International Affairs at the Copyright Office. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Border Patrol agents face unique and difficult situations in their daily work. Whether it's arresting dangerous criminals, or rescuing those in peril, that kind of trauma can start to weigh on a person's mental health. To help lift morale and put a friendly face on its community engagement efforts, Border Patrol has launched its Support Canine Program. To learn more about it and the four-legged agents who will be tasked with it, Federal News Network's Eric White got to chat with Robert Hess, Supervisory Border Patrol Agent and Support Canine Handler, along with his partner, Chappie. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

By all accounts, the nation is on an unsustainable fiscal course. Congress's own budget and oversight agencies say this regularly. Yet members refuse to confront the main drivers of exploding deficits. There's gotta be another way. To look into this, Federal Drive host Tom Temin talked with Elaine Kamarck, a veteran of budget battles as a member of the Clinton administration. She is currently with Brookings, a Senior Fellow in Governance Studies and the Founding Director of the Center for Effective Public Management. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Army may be putting its final touches on the plan for the Army of 2030, but it is already looking ahead to building its Army of 2040. The Army Futures Command (AFC) will develop the concept and a rough draft of the plan should reach completion this fall. With quickly changing technology, that plan will be as much about predicting the future as it is about planning requirements, addressing long-term training needs and getting new equipment into the field. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today's episode of The Federal Drive with Tom Temin: How the main civilian cybersecurity agency is building up its own cyber chops. A man with deep connections to farming is now heading a big Agriculture Department agency. New rules coming for contractors working on federal infrastructure projects. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Companies leaders who want a piece of projects funded by last year's infrastructure bill, should pay attention. The White House is coming out with lots of new rules for the Build American, Buy American act aka BABA. For more on this, Federal Drive host Tom Temin spoke with Dan Ramish, Haynes-Boone procurement attorney. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The great Solar Winds breach back in 2020 prompted many agencies to improve their cybersecurity. Even the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) found it had to improve its own ability to detect threats. Since then, CISA has steadily added to its capabilities for keeping an eye on networks across the government. For more, Federal Drive host Tom Temin spoke with Kristen Bernard, the Homeland Security Department's Assistant Inspector General for Audits. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Farming ranks among the most technologically intensive and productive industries. One reason is ongoing research. Now the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), part of the Agriculture Department, has a new administrator. To try and harvest some information about his research agenda, Federal Drive host Tom Temin talked with ARS Administrator Simon Liu. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Some agencies are struggling with how federal employees perceive their Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) programs. Although ADRs should be an effective option for mitigating workplace disputes before they rise to the level of litigation, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said negative perceptions from employees about ADR programs can worsen participation rates. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency hired hundreds of people last year and it plans to hire even more in 2023, as it works to stem attrition and burnout amid its mounting cybersecurity responsibilities. CISA hired 516 people in fiscal 2022, and it’s on track to hire 600 people in 2023. Director Jen Easterly hold the House Appropriations Committee’s homeland security subcommittee Tuesday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today's episode of The Federal Drive with Tom Temin: Those Agriculture Department agency relocations continue to throw off lessons learned. Big bucks up for grabs for those who can make buildings more energy efficient. Some bank failure take-aways for feds worried about their own investments. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices