It has been a little under a year since Brian Miller was confirmed as the Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery. Miller told our guest today that he’s found a lot of success in uncovering fraud associated with the CARES Act in his time on the job, but there is more work to be done. Courtney Bublé is a reporter covering oversight. She spoke to Miller last week and she joined the show to talk about her conversation with him and oversight in the Biden administration.
May 18, 2021•18 min•Season 2Ep. 58
Since 2013, the United States has seen multiple shutdowns, even more continuing resolutions and generalized budget confusion. Article One of the Constitution gives Congress budget responsibility, but it’s not that simple in practice or theory. Liz Hempowicz is the Director of Public Policy for the Project on Government Oversight. She joined the show to discuss budget authority and Congress’ role in the budgeting process.
May 17, 2021•25 min•Season 2Ep. 56
The COVID-19 crisis has pushed telework efforts in to overdrive. But with vaccines and infection numbers starting to go down, agency leaders are faced with an even bigger challenge: How to best engage employees digitally and how to slowly start to integrate staff back into the office when the time comes. Dr. John Kotter is the Executive Chairman of Kotter, Inc. and the author of the upcoming book Change: How Organizations Achieve Hard-to-Imagine Results in Uncertain and Volatile Times . He joine...
May 14, 2021•21 min•Season 2Ep. 56
As calls for racial justice have grown louder over the last few years, governments need to find ways to build racial equity into policy. Technology now gives governments more real-time information than ever to make policy decisions in the pursuit of equity, if they choose to use that information. Martin O’Malley was governor of the state of Maryland for two terms and the two-term mayor of Baltimore. He currently is a Senior Advisor for Smart Governance with Grant Thornton, a Fellow at the Nation...
May 13, 2021•24 min•Season 2Ep. 55
Eleven months ago, Brian Miller was confirmed as the Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery. Since his June confirmation, his office has staffed up his office, the COVID-19 crisis has continued and a presidential transition happened after November's election. Recently, GovExec correspondent and frequent GovExec Daily guest Courtney Bublé interviewed Miller about his time in his office and what he has learned during the 11 months he has been at the job.
May 12, 2021•26 min•Season 2Ep. 54
During the maximum telework period of the COVID-19 crisis, criticism of federal telework has largely been blunted by Pentagon and OPM evidence that productivity has been maintained during remote work. The pandemic experience now offers a unique opportunity for change because old assumptions about the effectiveness of telework were blown up by the data. This could be done through labor-management relations. Robert M. Tobias is a distinguished practitioner in residence at the Key Executive Leaders...
May 11, 2021•24 min•Season 2Ep. 53
President Joe Biden has promised to put diversity, equity and inclusion at the forefront of his agenda. In order to do that, good, usable data will need to be used to identify and analyze racial inequities, develop solutions, and track progress. Temilola Afolabi is a Research Associate who co-leads the Open Data for Racial Equity program at the Center for Open Data Enterprise (CODE). She joined the show to discuss how the Biden administration can use data in the pursuit of equity....
May 10, 2021•20 min•Season 2Ep. 52
Public service is both a career and calling for many. While the 15 months have really tested federal employees’ resolve, the two million civilian feds have responded with aplomb to the challenges of the novel coronavirus pandemic. Active and retired federal employees have likely looked at the response with some level of pride in civil servants’ professionalism. Jessica Klement is the Staff Vice President, police and program at the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association. Prior ...
May 07, 2021•20 min•Season 2Ep. 51
As with most things during the COVID-19 crisis, the 2020 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey was different than it had been in previous years. It was delayed twice and the results finally came out, showing that federal employees surveyed are more engaged and happier in their jobs. Erich Wagner covers the federal workforce for us here at GovExec. He joined the show to discuss survey results and other pay and benefits stories that affect federal employees.
May 06, 2021•22 min•Season 2Ep. 50
The federal civil service is huge and varied, with federal employees in jobs across agencies as different as the Justice Department and the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board. Love Rutledge is the host of the Fed Upward podcast and a federal employee at the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Force Readiness. She’s joined the podcast talk about what it's like being a public servant during Public Service Recognition Week....
May 05, 2021•17 min•Season 2Ep. 49
The Biden administration often claims that it inherited a series of policy crises when it came into office in January. Less prominent than the economic and public health crises involving COVID-19, for example, is the crises in the civil service. Biden’s bedrock task, our guest today has written, is to strengthen the civil service to tackle the policy problems facing the administration. Dr. Donald F. Kettl is Professor in the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas a...
May 04, 2021•22 min•Season 2Ep. 48
This week marks Public Service Recognition Week, a celebration of those who serve the U.S. as federal, state, county, local and tribal government employees. Throughout the country, government officials, communities and non profit organizations will celebrity public servants and the jobs they do supporting the nation. Jordan LaPier is a Senior Communications Manager at the Partnership for Public Service. He joins the show to talk about Public Service Recognition Week.
May 03, 2021•21 min•Season 2Ep. 47
Friday marks the 100th day of Joe Biden’s time as president. He marked the occasion with a speech to a joint session of Congress in which he touted his administration’s accomplishments and proposed a series of far-reaching policies that come with a price tag in the trillions. The 100-day mark has been a part of American political culture since Franklin Roosevelt's presidency. Katherine McIntire Peters is GovExec’s Deputy Editor and Tom Shoop is GovExec‘s executive vice president and editor in ch...
Apr 30, 2021•34 min•Season 2Ep. 46
After more than a year of dire news around the pandemic, the number of American adults who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 is rapidly rising. Nearly 100 million adults in the U.S. have had at least one shot of any of the available vaccines, but the pandemic is far from over. The next phase of vaccine distribution planning is paramount for public health if the U.S. – and the world – is to get to herd immunity going forward. Dr. Pooja Kumar is a McKinsey partner and Shubham Singhal is a McKi...
Apr 29, 2021•20 min•Season 2Ep. 45
The year-plus of the coronavirus pandemic isolation period has forced government to heed the call of modernization with speed unseen before it. The necessity of telework made the federal government switch to a more agile tech and workforce situation, including IT contracting and operations. The Biden administration came into office against that backdrop and, according to our guest today, has brought in a series of appointees who speak to a brighter, more professional future for government's digi...
Apr 28, 2021•17 min•Season 2Ep. 44
Recent Postal Inspector General reports paint a less-than-rosy picture for the United States Postal Service. Delayed service, financial burdens and understaffing plague the USPS, with customers increasingly frustrated. With all of this hanging over their heads, President Joe Biden’s Postal Board nominees appeared on Capitol Hill as part of their confirmation process. Eric Katz covers postal issues at GovExec and he joined the podcast to talk about the nominees and the state of USPS....
Apr 27, 2021•18 min•Season 2Ep. 43
The federal workforce is made up of more than two million individuals, so it is hardly a monolith of ideology, values or common sentiment. Each one swears an oath to the Constitution, of course, but they are human beings with their own viewpoints, including on policy and politics. Dr. Edoardo Teso is an Assistant Professor of Managerial Economics & Decision Sciences at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. Dr. Guo Xu is an Assistant Professor of Business and Public Policy a...
Apr 26, 2021•18 min•Season 2Ep. 42
When compared to other developed nations, the United States is lagging behind on providing paid leave for the workforce. A 2019 bill brought the federal government closer to other developed nation-states like the United Kingdom and France, but a new bill in the Senate would provide even more leave to federal employees and position the federal government as a leader in the U.S. on leave. GovExec Senior Correspondent Erich Wagner covers the federal workforce. He joined the show to discuss the paid...
Apr 22, 2021•15 min•Season 2Ep. 41
The generation born after 1996, commonly called Gen Z or Zoomers, are entering the workforce now, causing managers to adapt to Gen Z’s unique needs, complications and strengths. Management can be complicated. As technology and the world changes, the workforce and management will change, as well. Kat Clowes is the founder and CEO of March Consulting, an educational consultant and the author of Put College to Work: How to Use College to the Fullest to Discover Your Strengths and Find a Job You Lov...
Apr 21, 2021•24 min•Season 2Ep. 40
