The Federal Drive with Terry Gerton

The interagency process is designed to coordinate decisions across government, but it can also become a choke point for science and technology policy. Understanding where that process breaks down is key to getting ideas into action. Joining me with his observations and recommendations is the Director of Science Policy and Advocacy at the Stand Up for Science Foundation, Cole Donovan. See Privacy P...

Behind the scenes of mega-events, contractors are running key pieces of event infrastructure, from cyber systems to communications. That’s raising new questions about coordination, accountability, and who’s responsible when decisions have to happen fast. Joining me to walk through how that works is CEO of the Professional Services Council, Jim Carroll. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/priva...

The public’s overall view of civil servants is trending upward along with increasing public support for a nonpartisan federal workforce. Those latest findings come from a new report from the Partnership for Public Service. The nonprofit is also picking up on a continuing trend of many Americans disapproving of the Trump administration’s cuts to federal funding and the federal workforce. For more o...

Earlier this year, President Donald Trump announced restrictions on executive pay and stock buybacks as part of the administration’s push to speed procurement and revitalize the defense industrial base. Now lawmakers are looking to codify his executive order into law. Federal News Network’s Anastasia Obis has more. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at ht...

Today on the Federal Drive with Terry Gerton A new House task force is taking aim at everything from free speech to federal programs and for a lot of organizations, the level of scrutiny may be surprising A stretch of Capitol Hill work is shifting from debate to decisions See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info...

A new House Oversight task force is investigating how organizations handle issues like free speech, DEI and federal funding. With hearings now underway and a tight deadline, the focus is shifting from policy debates to how these decisions are made and documented. Here for a look at what that process actually looks like are Kim Hamm and Carlos Uriarte, co-chairs of Morrison Foerster’s congressional...

Several issues that have been building in Congress around foreign policy, intelligence authorities, affordability, emerging tech and federal funding are now in windows where action is possible. The timing is different for each, but the possibilities are clear. Here to point out the progress and the obstacles is deputy news director for Bloomberg Government, Loren Duggan. See Privacy Policy at http...

Today on the best of "The Federal Drive with Terry Gerton Bringing more students into public service starts with giving them a way in and a reason to see themselves there NASA is testing a faster way to recruit top engineering talent inside the federal hiring guardrails Federal financial management has always been a no‑fail mission. The past year has added new pressure to a workforce already stret...

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is battling one of the worst Ebola outbreaks on record, calling on its workforce to help contain its spread overseas. But the CDC is dealing with last year’s staffing cuts and still lacks permanent leadership in many of its roles. Further, Internal surveys show employees responding to the outbreak are also dealing with low morale. Federal News Network...

The Small Business Administration is expanding its scrutiny of socio-economic contracting programs to now include a review of the women-owned small business program. SBA is giving these firms until late June or early July to respond to a survey and provide the agency with “personal and business tax returns for the last three years.” For more about this new audit and an update on SBA's continued sc...

Even with increased funding and production, rebuilding key missile stockpiles could take years, creating a gap between current demand and available supply. We get a closer look now from Mark Cancian, senior adviser with the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Read the report here: https://www.csis.org/analysis/rebuilding-us-missile-inventory-multiyear-project See Privacy Policy at http...

Even with new money in place, DHS contractors are still dealing with delays, restart friction, and gaps left by the shutdown showing how long it can take for funding to translate into real execution. Here to walk us through how the Department is responding is CEO of the Professional Services Council, Jim Carroll. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at http...

Even as defense spending rises, many investments are still going into high-cost, limited systems, raising questions about whether the U.S. is building the right mix to sustain a prolonged fight. Here to share her analysis is senior defense policy analyst for the Center for Defense Information at POGO, Virginia Burger. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at...

Coming up today on the Federal Drive with Terry Gerton See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

A long-awaited HR modernization project is taking a big step forward. The Office of Personnel Management has awarded a nearly $400 million contract to Oracle. The vendor is expected to deliver a governmentwide IT platform to consolidate and replace the more than 100 HR systems currently in use across agencies. For the latest, Federal News Network’s Drew Friedman sat down for an exclusive interview...

Today on the Federal Drive with Terry Gerton Suicide prevention training is meant to protect service members, but the Pentagon can’t fully track who’s completing it or whether it’s helping Life insurance is one of those benefits people tend to carry, but not always understand It’s being pitched as a simple way to build wealth early, but whether it works may depend on how it fits real life See Priv...

Suicide prevention depends on reaching people early, but the military doesn’t always have clear visibility into whether its training is being completed or making a difference. A recent GAO review highlights gaps that go beyond compliance. We hear more from Rashmi Agarwal, Director, Defense Capabilities and Management at GAO. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy No...

A lot of people have life insurance, but that doesn’t always mean they know what it’s meant to cover or whether it would actually do what they expect. For federal employees, those questions often start with FEGLI and follow them into retirement. Here to help us sort through some key decision points is Tammy Flanagan, principal at Retire Federal. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and...

So‑called “Trump Accounts” are being described as a way to give kids an early start on saving, but the real questions are how much value they deliver, and where they actually fit among the choices families already have. Here to help us sort out the considerations is the president of Armed Forces Mutual, Mike Meese. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at ht...

The Agriculture Department’s sweeping plans to relocate employees are coming into focus. Employees are starting to receive their relocation notices. In the coming weeks, they must decide whether to move to keep their jobs or quit the agency. At one impacted component staff are being offered incentives if they stay or go. Federal News Network’s Jory Heckman has more.  See Privacy Policy at htt...

The Defense Department’s Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office has been in a period of transition lately. Several years after its creation, Pentagon leaders decided last year to fold the CDAO into the Office of the Under Secretary for Research and Engineering. Before that, the CDAO reported directly to the deputy secretary of Defense. Andrew Mapes is the acting principal deputy chief di...

Today on the Federal Drive with Terry Gerton Everybody studies government contracting, the open question is whether anyone outside the system can actually move it Federal contracting is heading into a different kind of environment, more controlled, more structured and less forgiving Sovereign AI, systems built by national governments that run on their own data, infrastructure and rules is hard, ex...

There’s no shortage of analysis about how government contracting works and where it’s broken. What’s harder to pin down is who actually has the leverage to change it. The Baroni Center at George Mason is trying to move from research to influence, and Mike Derrios says that only works if you’re plugged directly into how the system really operates. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and...

A series of changes across policy and regulation are reshaping the federal marketplace at the same time. Together, they point toward a system with tighter requirements and sharper expectations around performance and accountability. Here to help us understand the combined impact on the contracting community is Managing Partner at Centre Law and Consulting, Barbara Kinosky. See Privacy Policy at htt...

As countries race to adopt artificial intelligence, the challenge is building capability they actually control, without falling behind or over‑relying on outside providers. Alan Webber, Program Vice President - National Security, Defense and Intelligence at IDC, tells us what it takes to get that right. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19....