The Office of Federal Procurement Policy launched its better contracting initiative more than a year ago. Leaders promised this time would be different when it came to developing enterprise wide software licenses, a long time bugaboo for federal agencies. Well, guess what? The General Services Administration is about to deliver on that promise. GSA says its IT vendor management office is close to finalizing a government wide deal with Microsoft. For details, Federal. Executive Editor Jason Miller, caught up with GSA Assistant Commissioner IT category, Laura Stanton. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Members of Congress get, on average, three requests per day to help them with federal bureaucratic issues. A thousand requests a year. That means nearly half a million queries hitting federal agencies every year. My next guest got an assignment from the Administrative Conference of the United States. It wanted to explore ways to improve how agencies respond to congressional casework queries. With what he found, Boston University associate professor Sean Kealy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Have you ever wanted to take a career break? Its an attractive idea, but at some point you might want to come back into the government. A bill sponsored by Virginia Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton would establish what it calls a first-ever returnship program. Congresswoman Wexton joins me now with details. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Today on the Federal Drive with Tom Temin A bill to help former feds return to the government A better approach to dealing with requests from congressional casework Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The Defense Department is sunsetting its year old Task Force Lima. Its task was to examine large language models and establish the AI rapid capability cell known as the arc. Well now the ARC will lead the department's efforts to deliver next generation AI capabilities. Federal News Network's Anastasia Obis brings us the latest tell us more about ARC. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The Social Security Fairness Act is inching even closer to passage. At a rally in front of the Capitol building this week, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer committed to bringing the bill to a floor vote, and that's after the legislation to repeal the Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset, WEP and GPO cleared the House last month. Federal News Network's Drew Friedman was at this week's rally. She joins me now with the latest. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Thousands of federal employees will retire come the end of the month. Good retirement planning covers your finances, your healthcare but what about your *life* and what you'll do day-to-day. The dream can turn to boredom real fast. Here with some advice to get your backside in gear, happy and fulfilled federal retiree Abe Grungold of AG Financial Services. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Plans of the Department of Government Efficiency are nothing if not audacious. Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy have vowed to pare down the government by 50% or something. My next guest says the DOGE could succeed with manageable ambitions. Senior fellow at the conservative Manhattan Institute, Brian Riedl, joins me now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The news seems pretty grim these days. But federal employees have their annual opportunity to improve the lives of people they've never met. The Combined Federal Campaign is underway. Joining me with the outlook, the chair for the National Capital Region, Vince Micone. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Today on the Federal Drive with Tom Temin Giving Tuesday was a gateway to this year's Combined Federal Campaign A slightly more sanguine view of the Department of Government Efficiency Retirement can seem great until day two. Then what? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
On today's episode of The Federal Drive with Tom Temin: Military recruitment social media tactics aren't working very well What's it like to be career and the number two medical officer at VA This procurement protest has brought all the wigs into the courtroom Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The House and Senate Armed Services committees rolled out a compromise defense policy bill late Saturday night that could give a historic pay raise to junior enlisted service members. Federal News Network's Anastasia Obis has more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Members of Congress are pushing back against the next phase of the Postal Service's 10 year reform plan. USPS ended 2024 with its worst net loss in recent years. This as the agency sets looser targets for on time mail now, USPS plans to save billions by cutting the number of trips their trucks run between mail processing facilities and post offices. Federal News Network's Jory Heckman has the latest. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
A seemingly ordinary award protest has blown up. For only the fifth time in the last 25 years, all of the judges of the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit will hear the case. That's known as an en banque hearing. To explain how a subcontracting dispute got to this level, Haynes Boone procurement attorney Dan Ramish. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The Armed Services have turned to social media in recent years to promote recruitment. Yet they're still missing sign-up goals by the thousands. The Government Accountability Office finds, the target Generation Z has a declining attitude about the military. More now from the GAO's director of defense capabilities and management, Alissa Czyz. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Federal senior executives are often well known in their agencies, but toil in obscurity as far as the public's concerned. My next guest is a physician, senior executive and the deputy under secretary for health at the Veterans Health Administration. Now he's among this year's Senior Executives Association's people of the year. As part of our ongoing series of these S E A'ers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
It's no secret that the FAA has an ongoing need for more air traffic controllers. Air traffic control takes more training and skill than making whole milk cappuccinos, though. Now the FAA has expanded its metwork of collegiate training sites with the addition of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University of Daytona Beach, Florida. Joining me with details, the FAA's deputy vice president of safety and technical training, Christopher Wilbanks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The latest potentially disruptive force for the government is from Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy. They're promising to use their so called Department of Government Efficiency to upset the status quo in the executive branch. Managers in both agencies and industries have got to have a plan to mitigate and soften the real or perceived impact of these changes for more on how to manage disruptions in the workplace. Federal News Network's executive editor Jason Miller caught up with Air Force chief information officer, Venice Goodwine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
My next guest makes his living putting on comedy shows about public records he's obtained through freedom of information act requests FOIA. Given the state of politics and the uncertainty over what the Trump administration will bring, my producers thought, why not? The creator of Foia Comedy, Curtis Raye, joins me now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Today on the Federal Drive with Tom Temin The FAA adds a new college to its air traffic controller roster Finding the humor, the outright hilarity, in public records Transition to Trump starts in earnest with agency landing teams Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
It's beginning to look a lot like transition. To the next Trump administration, that is. In fact, the so-called landing teams should be dropping in on agencies starting this week. All this against a backdrop of budget uncertainty. We check in with veteran watcher and president and C-E-O of the Professional Services Council David Berteau. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Although the Biden administration is winding down, current senior officials see a few key opportunities to expand federal hiring initiatives in the coming years. Strategies such as skills-based hiring and shared certificates have long had strong bipartisan support and have already seen some promising results. Federal News Network's Drew Friedman joins me with more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The incoming Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency is homing in on some early targets. DOGE and lawmakers who back it are looking to rein in telework and relocate federal employees. And DOGE leaders are also focusing on the well trodden topic of IT modernization of all things. For the latest, Federal News Network's Justin Doubleday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Between the nominees of President-elect Donald Trump traipsing up the Senate and the 2025 budget deadline Capitol Hill has become a beehive of activity. Here with a roundup of what to watch Bloomberg Government deputy news director Loren Duggan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The IRS wants U.S. citizens to be honest about paying their tax obligations. But who keeps the I-R-S on its toes? For the last 25 years, that's been the job of the Treasury Inspector for Tax Administration known as TIGTA. It started in 1999, following landmark Congressional overhaul of the IRS in 1998. Here with a review, senior advisor Matt Schimmel. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Today on the Federal Drive with Tom Temin The IRS overseer, known as TIGTA, marks 25 years in business Schedule F, are you ready for if it actually comes your way? Suddenly Capitol Hill is a beehive for federal issues Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Far be it from us to spoil your holiday season, but senior career managers in government might want to consider preparing for the worst. Suppose the coming Trump administration does get Schedule F in place. Are ready for a forced retirement or change in career? Some advice now from retirement expert Tammy Flanagan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
College and University ROTC programs have a crucial role in training the military's future officers. In fact, they produce more officers than the military's own academies. But there's no analog for DoD civilian workforce, and officials want to change that. The department's new Defense Civilian Training Corps is now up and running at four universities. They're modeled to a degree on proven ROTC programs, Federal News Network's Jared Serbu got an update on how it's going. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity has caused an unusual question. At least in the mind of my next guest. Could a president take over large federal contract awards in contravention of acquisition rules and regulations and get away with it? Federal administration professor Bob Tobias joins me now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Today on the Federal Drive with Tom Temin A new way to pay for innovation takes off for the Air Force What conservative lobbyists expect from Doug Burgum at Interior How a president could take over federal contracting Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices