The Federal Drive with Terry Gerton

The Postal Service, on the verge of running out of cash early next year, is pricing out a wide range of possible reforms that, if passed by Congress, could address the agency’s long-term financial problems. One of them would be eliminating its regulatory agency, which must approve USPS requests to raise stamp prices. USPS expects to run out of cash early next year, but is relying on some extraordi...

As agencies look for ways to operate faster and more efficiently,  The Army’s medical logistics community is embracing telemaintenence. It’s a bit like telemedicine, except for medical equipment. That’s meant the most experienced medical logisticians can now lend their expertise from a distance, in ways that let equipment get fixed in hours instead of days. Wes Ladlee is the chief of Arm...

Today on the Federal Drive with Terry Gerton After a marathon markup, the House has shaped its version of the NDAA, but the final outcome is still very much in play Congress and multiple administrations keep coming back to one idea, use more fixed‑price contracts to control costs and improve outcomes. But putting that into practice is more complicated than it sounds When agencies are under pressur...

The House has moved its defense policy bill out of committee, mixing acquisition changes with broader policy fights. But with the Senate still to act and negotiations ahead, this version is far from final. And what shows up in this bill will shape how agencies buy, manage, and oversee work across government. We have the President of the Professional Services Council, Stephaie Kostro, here to walk...

Fixed‑price contracting is often treated as the answer to cost control in federal acquisition, and it works when requirements are clear and outcomes are known. But as agencies try to apply that model more broadly, they keep running into the reality that many projects don’t start with that kind of certainty. Here with a perspective from the industry side of the table is Brian Miller, president of B...

A recent case involving the suspension of an 8(a) contractor is raising questions about how agencies document their decisions. An SBA appeals judge sent the case back, saying the record didn’t meet even basic requirements. So the issue, for now, isn’t whether the agency was right, it’s whether it showed its work clearly enough to justify the action. Zach Prince, partner at Haynes Boone, joins me n...

The House Armed Services Committee adopted an expansive right-to-repair amendment Thursday over the objections of the committee’s chairman and several Republicans, setting up another major fight with industry over the Pentagon's access to technical data and software. Federal News Network’s Anastasia Obis has more. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at htt...

Lieutenant General Paul Stanton is redefining the concept of team work at the Defense Information Systems Agency. The director of DISA says the interdependency of technology systems and the speed of artificial intelligence are driving this change. WIth more on what DISA’s new approach to team work is going to look like, Federal News Network executive editor Jason Miller joins me now. See Privacy P...

Coming up today on the Federal Drive with Terry Gerton Congress makes headway on ICE and CBP funding, but not much else There’s a new temporary selection to lead U.S. intelligence and it’s a good moment to look at what that job demands and how the process works A proposed NDA for federal employees is drawing attention to how information moves inside government and who feels safe sharing it See Pri...

After late-night votes and a contentious markup, Congress is inching forward on some of its highest-profile priorities, including ICE and CBP funding and the annual defense authorization bill. Regular appropriations for 2027 are also moving through committees. Loren Duggan, Deputy News Director for Bloomberg Government, joins me now to walk through where things stand. See Privacy Policy at https:/...

The appointment of an acting DNI brings up bigger questions about how the intelligence community is led and coordinated. That includes what kind of experience the role demands and how long an acting structure can hold. Here with insight on what has to go right is former FBI special agent and national security expert, Rich Kolko. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privac...

A proposal to create a governmentwide nondisclosure agreement for federal employees is raising new questions about transparency and accountability. The administration says it reinforces existing rules, but critics warn it could have a broader impact on how employees communicate and report concerns. That tension between policy and behavior is at the center of the debate. Joe Spielberger of the Proj...

Agencies will soon get their first set of marching orders from President Donald Trump’s executive order on artificial intelligence from earlier this week. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is expected to issue at least one binding operational directive as soon as today to direct agencies to secure large language models. For more on the BOD and other changes expected from the AI...

The Forest Service is offering separation incentives to employees ahead of an agency reorganization that will move hundreds of positions across the country. The Forest Service told employees in a recent email that it will offer Voluntary Early Retirement Authority (VERA) and Voluntary Separation Incentive Payments (VSIP) to employees impacted by the agency’s upcoming reorganization. The Agricultur...

For federal employees and retirees, inflation is changing the math on everything from retirement income to basic savings strategy. Some of the choices that feel conservative, like leaning on the G Fund or sitting on cash can fall behind over time. Art Stein joins me to walk through how inflation is affecting federal financial security. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California...

Today on the Federal Drive with Terry Gerton CMMC has moved from planning to enforcement and contractors are feeling it When it comes to inflation, playing it safe isn’t always the safest investment move See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

After years of preparation, cybersecurity requirements for defense contractors are now being enforced in real time. That shift is exposing gaps between what companies thought was ready and what actually meets the standard. Here to walk through what he’s seeing inside the defense supply chain is Emil Sayegh, CEO of Cybersheath. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy...

The Trump administration has taken the final step to make Schedule Policy/Career a reality. Close to 8,000 career federal employees will be moved into the new employment category with limited job protections. The move is meant to boost workforce accountability, but has also drawn sharp criticism. Here with more, Federal News Network’s Drew Friedman. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy...

The White House is moving toward a voluntary process for reviewing frontier artificial intelligence models for cybersecurity risks. The review process is laid out in an AI security executive order executive order signed out this week. The order also sets the stage for new governmentwide cybersecurity directives. Federal News Network’s Justin Doubleday joins me now with more details. See Privacy Po...

Today on the Federal Drive with Terry Gerton Getting from a patent to a product is still where many ideas get stuck Building more missile defense capability means rebuilding the industrial base behind it New research suggests some of the states most closely tied to the federal government may not be the ones you expect See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at...

Even with the Bayh‑Dole framework in place, moving a federally funded discovery into the market still depends on licensing, capital and timing. A new report highlights where those steps break down and how researchers and entrepreneurs work through them. Here to share their own journey through the innovation ecosystem are Dr. Eric Fossum and Dr. Sabrina Kemeny. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.c...

A new production center in Alabama reflects a larger effort to expand U.S. munitions capacity, but the real story runs through suppliers, hiring and how quickly that system can respond to demand. As the Pentagon looks for more surge capability, industry is working through the constraints that shape what’s possible. Tim Cahill, President of Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, is here to disc...

For years, rankings of state dependence on federal spending have focused largely on government transfers. A new study from the Pioneer Institute takes a broader view, incorporating everything from Social Security and Medicare to defense spending, military payrolls and disaster assistance. The results challenge some conventional assumptions, placing Maryland and Virginia among the states most depen...

Enrollees in the government’s health insurance programs will soon face tighter requirements when adding family members to their plans. A new final rule from the Office of Personnel Management will expand the verification process for insurance enrollees. It’s an effort to reduce spending on ineligible participants. Here with more, Federal News Network’s Drew Friedman. See Privacy Policy at https://...

After upheavals across the federal workforce, and hundreds of thousands of public servants leaving their jobs, grassroots organizations have been rising to meet the moment. One of those groups is called FedsForward, which has been building tech-enabled tools to help civil servants navigate career change. Federal News Network's Drew Friedman recently caught up with Karen Lee, a co-founder of FedsFo...