As a shutdown approached earlier this fall, Congress passed a continuing resolution to keep the government open until December 3. The CR passage was in the service of buying time to get a longer term deal together before the December deadline. With only a few weeks until that deadline, Congressional leaders say that another CR may be necessary to avoid the government shutting down. GovExec Senior Correspondent Eric Katz has been covering the shutdown threat . He joined the show to discuss the st...
Nov 18, 2021•16 min•Season 2Ep. 178
Open Season for federal employees runs from November 8 to December 13, so we are right in the middle of it. Finding the right health coverage can be tough and it’s exceptionally hard to predict any person’s health care needs in advance. The presence of a global pandemic only further complicates things. Our guest today is here to talk a little about open season and how feds can handle it more easily. Kevin Moss is a senior editor with Consumers’ Checkbook. Checkbook’s 2022 Guide to Health Plans f...
Nov 17, 2021•19 min•Season 2Ep. 177
Vaccine mandates have been a controversial subject in American discourse since vaccines became widely available early this year. The COVID-19 vaccine mandate deadline for federal employees is next week, presumably with discipline following for feds who do not have an approved exemption. The Government Business Council, the research arm of Government Executive, conducted a survey of federal employees recently that found that more than of respondents either strongly or somewhat disagreed with the ...
Nov 16, 2021•17 min•Season 2Ep. 176
By law, government whistleblowers are supposed to be protected against retaliation by their superiors. Unfortunately, that protection is more theoretical than it is reality. Recent history is littered with stories of retaliation against those exposing waste, fraud and abuse in the government and outside of it. Dana Gold is Government Accountability Project’s Senior Counsel and Director of Education, as well as the Director of its Democracy Protection Initiative. She is also the author of a post ...
Nov 15, 2021•20 min•Season 2Ep. 175
As agencies continue to determine best practices for hybrid and remote workplace models, questions remain about how these issues are impacting both the work of federal employees and the employees themselves. Agency officials will have to guarantee consistency and transparency in their offices in order to continue to build a strong federal workforce. As part of Government Executive’s State of the Federal Workforce event recently, GovExec reporter and frequent GovExec Daily guest Erich Wagner spok...
Nov 12, 2021•24 min•Season 2Ep. 174
The pandemic caused a major shift, especially to the federal workforce. With return-to-offices on the way , federal employees are ready for a reset. The major change presented by the pandemic and the shift to remote work has caused an increase in stress, a lack of sense of community, and increased Anxiety. What exactly do federal employees want and how should federal executives reset their relationships with their employees? Britaini Carroll is the Principal Director of Workforce Transformation ...
Nov 10, 2021•13 min•Season 2Ep. 173
Last week, the Office of Special Counsel announced that it had substantiated a whistleblower’s allegations from 2019 that the General Services Administration knew about hazardous materials and explosives at a federal office building in Missouri for more than a decade, but did not notify those working at the facility. Erich Wagner is covering the story. He joined the show to discuss the OSC report and next steps.
Nov 09, 2021•14 min•Season 2Ep. 172
Starting Nov. 9, agencies can begin to take disciplinary action for employees who refuse to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Feds who have received approved religious or medical accommodations for receiving the vaccine will not be disciplined, of course, but the two-week time countdown to the Nov. 22 deadline is ticking. Stephanie Rapp-Tully is a partner and federal employment attorney with Tully Rinckey PLLC’s Washington, D.C. office. She joined the podcast to talk about what federal employees can...
Nov 08, 2021•13 min•Season 2Ep. 171
The White House announced on Thursday that the deadline for the vaccine mandate for federal contractors will be pushed back about a month to January 4. But the firms contracting with the government still have unanswered questions from their workforces as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. Kelly Kroll is a partner at Morris, Manning & Martin LLP and has worked on federal, state, and local government contract formation and administration matters. She joined the show to talk about the vaccine man...
Nov 05, 2021•18 min•Season 2Ep. 170
As Congress continues to negotiate an infrastructure bill, the role of public-private partnerships are key in the bill’s provisions. With the success of Operation Warp Speed in the development of the COVID-19 vaccines, a new look at such partnerships is due. Dr. David Van Slyke is Dean of the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. He was also recently named to the Defense Business Board for fiscal 2022. He joined the podcast to discuss public-private partnership...
Nov 04, 2021•26 min•Season 2Ep. 169
The Nov. 22 deadline for federal employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 is a few weeks away and we’re now looking at states and federal employee groups suing the Biden administration about the mandate. GovExec correspondent Courtney Bublé writes the Coronavirus Roundup. She joined the show to discuss the lawsuits against the mandate.
Nov 03, 2021•13 min•Season 2Ep. 168
Ever since the 2016 presidential election, voter fraud, election security and disinformation have been major topics in the national conversation. On Tuesday, millions of Americans will cast ballots in local elections across the U.S. Given the current concerns surrounding the validity of the election results, it's critical that election officials reassure voters that the process is safe. Ross Underwood is an elections technology advisor with the Canton Group. He joined the show to discuss why Ame...
Nov 02, 2021•19 min•Season 2Ep. 167
Federal law enforcement takes many forms, from the U.S. Marshals to FBI agents to Bureau of Prisons employees. But often overlooked are the U.S. Park Rangers of the National Park Service. They are the ones who are the front line of law enforcement in the hundreds of parks, monuments, recreation areas and other units of the National Park System. These rangers are facing diminishing numbers , a greater workload, and a lack of equipment and training, creating an increasingly dangerous situation. Pa...
Nov 01, 2021•16 min•Season 2Ep. 166
The deadline for most federal employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19, unless they are granted an exemption, is November 22. Some feds have maintained that they will fight the mandate in court, while others may just quit and others will apply for exemptions. With the deadline approaching, members of Congress have questions about the workforce implications of the mandate. Eric Katz is a reporter at GovExec. He joined the podcast to talk about the state of the vaccine mandate for federal empl...
Oct 29, 2021•18 min•Season 2Ep. 165
Last week, Senators on the Senate Appropriations Committee unveiled the initial Senate versions of nine fiscal year 2022 spending bills. Absent was any language on feds’ pay, thus effectively endorsing the White House’s 2.7% average increase for next year. Erich Wagner covers the federal workforce. He joined the podcast to discuss the status of the pay raise and other pay and benefits stories that affect federal employees.
Oct 28, 2021•19 min•Season 2Ep. 164
For years, a man named Leonard Francis bribed U.S. Navy officers with cash, booze, luxury items and prostitutes in return for fraudulent multi-million-dollar deals. Eventually the Navy began an operation to entrap the man known as “Fat Leonard.” Detained for years, Francis spoke to our guest today for a podcast series on the scandal and the ways the misogyny, graft and corruption evident in it resonate even today. Brazen Original podcast Fat Leonard is available across platforms including Spotif...
Oct 27, 2021•20 min•Season 2Ep. 163
The U.S. in 2021 is a nation-state confronting a series of complex societal challenges that have no easy answer. Climate change, racial injustice and a raging pandemic are just some of the threats that American government will have to confront. This will fall to public servants to execute policy and innovate in the service of the mission of government. Beth Simone Noveck is a professor at Northeastern University, where she directs The Governance Lab. She’s also the author of the book Solving Pub...
Oct 26, 2021•28 min•Season 2Ep. 162
The COVID-19 crisis has been devastating to the world. It has taken millions of lives worldwide and at least 700,000 American lives. As the American public health response continues, learning from the mistakes of this crisis will be critically important for the next crisis. Katherine Barrett and Richard Greene, are principals of Barrett and Greene, Inc and are nationally-known authorities in performance management, health policy and other public administration issues. Dr. Donald F. Kettl is prof...
Oct 25, 2021•21 min•Season 2Ep. 161
When Congress started addressing the coronavirus pandemic with relief bills in 2020, billions of federal dollars started flowing to local and state governments to deal with the crisis. Now as these governments shape their goals and priorities, they're turning to advances in machine learning, combined with automation, to effectively identify and prevent fraud, waste, and abuse cases, while ensuring transparency in government and the public. As part of GovExec Media’s Roadmap to Modernization even...
Oct 21, 2021•27 min•Season 2Ep. 160
Last week, good government group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington filed a Hatch Act complaint with OSC against White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki for comments she made about the Virginia gubernatorial race. Courtney Bublé is a reporter for us at Government Executive. She joined the podcast to discuss her story on the Psaki situation and the Hatch Act.
Oct 20, 2021•18 min•Season 2Ep. 159
Government agencies and offices can sometimes seem opaque or theoretical, but if you speak to any military veteran, the Veterans Benefits Administration is very real and the services it provides are quite important to veterans. Our guest today was an official at VBA and has a new book about his time at the agency. Dr. Paul R. Lawrence served as the Under Secretary of Benefits at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs from 2018-2021, is a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration a...
Oct 19, 2021•22 min•Season 2Ep. 158
According to surveys, the last 18 months have reoriented the way people see work. In turn, retirement may be a more attractive option for those reevaluating their relationships to their jobs. As 2022 fast approaches, plenty of federal employees are looking at the calendar and considering when to retire. Tammy Flanagan writes the weekly Retirement Planning column for us here at GovExec, including the annual Best Dates to Retire column that posted this week. She runs her own consulting business an...
Oct 18, 2021•23 min
The pandemic has taken a heavy economic toll on municipalities across America. As a result, two-thirds of U.S. cities are planning to use funds from the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act to cover lost revenue. The National League of Cities annual fiscal survey, released last Tuesday, underscored how important federal funding has been for maintaining services and mitigating the financial impact of the pandemic. Andrea Noble is a staff correspondent for Routefifty.com she joins the show to discuss her...
Oct 15, 2021•14 min
Last Friday marked the deadline for the majority of Veterans Affairs Department employees to complete their vaccinations against COVID-19. But as of today, more than 45,000 employees have yet to demonstrate that they've received the shots. The good news is that 88% of the VA workforce has been vaccinated, but the remaining 12% must submit documentation of their vaccinations by October 18th or request religious or medical accommodations. Once the deadline passes, VA will begin to discipline unvac...
Oct 14, 2021•16 min
The future of war is unwritten, but the Defense Department is constantly analyzing and preparing for that future. In the electromagnetic spectrum, in the wilds of cyberspace and on the battlefield, modernization is always on the minds of Pentagon officials. As part of GovExec Media’s Roadmap to Modernization event recently, Defense One Technology Editor Patrick Tucker spoke to Colonel Elizabeth Sweet, Defense Engagement Lead, at the Defense Innovation Unit and Dr. Stephen Russell, Information Sc...
Oct 13, 2021•28 min
The work of modernization of government is built with technology and with people. Programs and software need to work with the staff that uses these tools and agencies need to synthesize all the pieces of any puzzle to serve each the mission more effectively. As part of GovExec Media’s Roadmap to Modernization event recently, Nextgov Staff Correspondent, Brandi Vincent spoke to Michael Peckham, Executive Officer, Acting Chief Financial Officer & Director Financial Management Portfolio, Progra...
Oct 12, 2021•19 min•Season 2Ep. 153
The Office of Personnel Management announced recently that November 9 will be the first day federal agencies can take disciplinary action against employees who refuse the COVID-19 vaccine under President Joe Bidene’s mandate. Some employees will be exempt for medical and religious reasons, but that is not necessarily a simple process, nor are those exemptions guaranteed to be approved. Stephanie Rapp-Tully is a partner and federal employment attorney with Tully Rinckey PLLC’s Washington, D.C. of...
Oct 08, 2021•13 min•Season 2Ep. 152
The deadline for federal employees to get vaccinated in order to comply with President Joe Biden’s mandate is more than a month away, but some employee groups are already balking at the rule. At the Bureau of Prisons, an agency ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic, union officials have estimated that an already bad staffing situation may be worse. Courtney Bublé writes the Coronavirus Roundup. She joined the podcast to discuss her story on the vaccine situation at the Bureau of Prisons, as well as o...
Oct 07, 2021•14 min•Season 2Ep. 151
During the 35-day government shutdown that spanned 2018 and 2019, furloughed federal employees found themselves without paychecks for over a month. While most federal employees got back pay for the shutdown, the financial stream of losing income was great for many feds. As government shutdowns become more common in recent years, federal employees and contractors will have to be more judicious about how they protect themselves financially. Clark Kendall is a financial analyst and president & ...
Oct 06, 2021•11 min•Season 2Ep. 150
The novel coronavirus crisis has brought to light many systemic problems in American governance and the civil service. Like other major disasters, the pandemic presents an opportunity to reshape the future of work in the federal service. Dr. Donald F. Kettl is professor emeritus at the University of Maryland and former dean of its School of Public Policy. He is the author of many books, including Escaping Jurassic Government: How to Recover America's Lost Commitment to Competence , The Politics ...
Oct 05, 2021•20 min•Season 2Ep. 149
