Federal Drive with Tom Temin

After a busy start to the 118th session, Congress is on recess this week. Members are contemplating a number of important issues, though. Besides the debt limit, they have got some crucial re-authorizations ahead. Federal Drive host Tom Temin gets the details from Bloomberg Government Deputy News Director Loren Duggan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A cybersecurity catastrophe appears to be brewing. At least according to a recent guest on the Federal Drive with Tom Temin. Kaniah Konkoly-Thege points to several signs out there that don't bode well for critical data or critical infrastructure. The General Counsel at quantum-computing software vendor Quantiuum, joined Temin to read the tea leaves. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The small but potent Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) has reached its stride, as it enters its eighth year in business. The DIU uses a technique known as "other transaction authority" to quickly get new technology prototypes built for military purposes. Last year, those awards reached a billion dollars. For some highlights from its latest annual report, Federal Drive host Tom Temin spoke with DIU's Acting Director Mike Madsen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After six years, agencies are still missing the final regulations they need to make significant changes to federal administrative leave policy. Congress gave the Office of Personnel Management 270 days to implement new federal leave regulations under the Administrative Leave Act, a provision included in the fiscal 2017 National Defense Authorization Act. But OPM has missed that deadline by far — at least for some of the more complicated changes to the leave policy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

DARPA looks to three companies to help build a quantum computer that works for the Defense Department. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today's episode of The Federal Drive with Tom Temin: An update on the cars and trucks that'll in your agency's fleet Why Homeland Security's Science and Technology Directorate cooks up explosives in test tubes How three agencies are applying zero trust to really button up their cybersecurity Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Biden administration wants the federal fleet of cars and light trucks to be all electric. Most of the fleet is acquired and managed by a section of the General Services Administration. To discuss GSA plans, Federal Drive host Tom Temin spoke with the Acting Deputy Director of the GSA fleet, Christina Kingsland and with the Assistant Commissioner for Travel, Transportation and Logistics in the Federal Acquisition Service, Crystal Philcox. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Airport security screening is in large measure a function of detection of objects and materials. A recurring challenge comes from non-commercial explosives -- dangerous substances cooked up by criminals for unknown reasons. Before developing technology to detect these substances, the Transportation Security Laboratory, part of the Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate, must reproduce them in a safe way. That is one of the jobs that falls to the Applied Research Division (ARD). In the fourth and final interview of his series, on location at the lab near Atlantic City, Federal Drive host Tom Temin spoke with the ARD's Chemistry Branch Manager, Dr. John Brady. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Federal cybersecurity leaders are looking forward to a major update for the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Cybersecurity Framework, as NIST aims to add new details on governance, supply chain risks and more to a document that guides the cybersecurity practices of many organizations. NIST released the original framework in 2014 and last updated the document in 2018. It began gathering feedback on the shift to “CSF 2.0” through a request for information last February, and hosted an initial workshop on the new framework in June. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today's episode of The Federal Drive with Tom Temin: Now any well-meaning citizen can help refugees resettle in the United States How a Homeland Security lab referees between vendors trying to sell equipment, and the TSA This group says the federal government, for all the auctions, is still a spectrum hog Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is constantly generating new screening requirements, equipment that can sense or detect something and sound an alarm if need be. It falls to the Homeland Security Department's Transportation Security Laboratory (TSL), operated by the Science and Technology Directorate, to work with TSA and potential vendors to evaluate-and-test a particular technology. In the third of four interviews in this week's series with TSL leadership, Federal Drive host Tom Temin spoke with the Developmental Test and Evaluation Alarm Resolution Branch Manager, Dr. Jason Stairs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A technology trade association is urging Congress to update the law that lets the FCC auction off radio spectrum held by the government. In fact, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation basically said the government continues to hog much spectrum that could be more efficiently used by industry. For details, Federal Drive host Tom Temin spoke with Joe Kane, ITIF's Director of broadband and spectrum policy, Joe Kane. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lots of people flowing past the U.S. southern border really are refugees, who deserve protection. Now the State Department and the Department of Health and Human Services have jointly started up a way to let regular citizens help refugees resettle in the United States. It's called Welcome Corps. For more on Welcome Corp, Federal Drive host Tom Temin talked with the Senior Adviser for the State Department's Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration at State, Rosanna Kim. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Biden administration is looking to a familiar face to put tens of billions of dollars to good use at the IRS. President Joe Biden last year nominated Danny Werfel, a former acting IRS commissioner, to serve as permanent commissioner for a five-year term. If confirmed, Werfel would be the first IRS commissioner to spend a significant portion of the $80 billion in the Inflation Reduction Act meant for the agency to rebuild its workforce and modernize its legacy IT over the next decade. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Federal Aviation Administration assured Congress Wednesday that it’s taken steps to avoid a repeat of last month's air traffic meltdown. But the agency’s leader said it will take at least another two years before the aging IT infrastructure at the heart of the issue is fully replaced with more modern technology. The FAA messaging system that issues Notices to Air Missions (NOTAMs) went offline on the evening of January 10th, and wasn’t fully restored until 9am the next morning. While it was offline, the FAA ordered a complete halt to all aircraft departures nationwide for nearly two hours — the first time the U.S. has seen a nationwide ground stop since the Sept. 11 attacks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices