A newly-proposed USDA contracting regulation would require every contractor on every bid to certify their compliance with every statute, list every violation they have ever had and define what was done to mitigate the violations. Our guest today writes in a post on our site that the regulation, if enacted, would be a mess for compliance and is likely illegal. Stan Soloway is president and CEO of Celero Strategies, LLC and a GovExec contributor. He formerly served as deputy undersecretary of Defe...
Apr 12, 2022•18 min•Season 3Ep. 34
Every American has to deal with the IRS in some way. From COVID-19 stimulus payments to tax credits to the annual filing date, Americans deal with the agency on a regular basis. As the Biden administration emphasizes customer service, the tax agency has to balance these responsibilities constantly. But, in the middle of record staffing shortages and a lack of funding, the agency has been operating in survival mode. As part of Government Executive, Route Fifty and Nextgov’s Customer Experience su...
Apr 11, 2022•30 min•Season 3Ep. 33
Customer service is a topic that has become more important in recent years and especially in recent months with executive action, and legislative priorities. The IRS, in particular, often finds itself in the center of these conversations, especially now, during tax season. As part of Government Executive and Nextgov’s Future of Work event recently, Nextgov Executive Editor Frank Konkkel spoke to Annette Jones, assistant to the chief taxpayer Experience Officer at the Internal Revenue Service. In...
Apr 08, 2022•19 min•Season 3Ep. 32
President Joe Biden released his second budget plan late last month, calling for nearly across-the-board increases for agencies. The blueprint features a series of provisions that would affect federal employees, including a pay raise number and moves to make government a “model employer” GovExec senior reporter Erich Wagner covers the federal workforce. He joined the podcast to discuss the budget and other pay and benefits stories that he has been following. *** Join GovExec Daily on Clubhouse! ...
Apr 07, 2022•16 min•Season 3Ep. 31
As pandemic restrictions fall and more employers begin the process of moving to hybrid work, the management lessons learned from two years of remote work. Being able to work from anywhere has changed relationships in the workplace and employers are now learning how that is manifesting. Dr. Brianna Barker Caza is an Associate Professor of Management at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Dr. Caza has studied how workers use internal and social resources to address stressful work attri...
Apr 06, 2022•25 min•Season 3Ep. 30
President Joe Biden released his second budget proposal and in it, the White House laid out its priorities for the economy, climate and public health. If enacted, the plan would boost discretionary domestic agency funding by 9.5% over current levels. Doug Criscitello, a former official with the Congressional Budget Office and the Office of Management and Budget, is currently a Managing Director with Grant Thornton Public Sector LLC and a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration. H...
Apr 05, 2022•17 min•Season 3Ep. 29
Before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, global supply chains were already in disarray because of the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in shortages, disruptions and price inflation. The war and EU and U.S. sanctions against Russia have put further strains on supply chains, prompting higher energy prices and fears of famine. Dr. David Simchi-Levi is a professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the director of the MIT Data Science Lab. As part of our ...
Apr 04, 2022•18 min•Season 3Ep. 28
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has gone on for more than six weeks now, with American public support mostly falling on the side of the Ukrainian cause. Americans have volunteered in support of Ukraine, including traveling there and the Ukrainian government has even created a web site dedicated to accepting donations directly for Ukraine’s military. These avenues of support, however, can be dicey for security clearance holders. Dan Meyer is a federal employment attorney and Managing Partner of T...
Apr 01, 2022•12 min•Season 3Ep. 27
On Monday, President Joe Biden unveiled his budget request that would increase base discretionary spending levels over the levels in the recently enacted omnibus bill. Included in that increase would be a significant increase in hiring for agencies throughout the federal government. GovExec reporter Eric Katz is covering the budget. He joined the podcast to discuss some of the big takeaways from the Biden blueprint. *** Join GovExec Daily on Clubhouse! https://www.clubhouse.com/club/govexec-dail...
Mar 31, 2022•17 min•Season 3Ep. 26
With American support for Ukraine in its war against Russia as a backdrop, President Biden warned of increased potential of cyberattacks on critical infrastructure in the United States last week. The White House put out a statement renewing its calls for all organizations to bolster their cyber defenses, writing that Russia “could conduct malicious cyber activity against the United States.” Peter Romness is a Cybersecurity Principal in the Public Sector CTO Office at Cisco Systems Inc. He join...
Mar 30, 2022•17 min•Season 3Ep. 25
Less than three weeks after the president signed the $1.5 trillion full-year appropriations package that Congress passed, the White House released its new budget blueprint document on Monday . The plan emphasizes a range of administration priorities like DEIA, customer service and a pay raise for federal employees . Tanya Ballard Brown is Executive Editor at GovExec and Courtney Bublé is a reporter at GovExec. They joined the podcast to discuss the budget budget document that the White House rel...
Mar 29, 2022•18 min•Season 3Ep. 24
Getting a security clearance is a tough process and one that can be derailed by a number of issues. In 2016, for example, financial issues were the biggest cause of clearance denial, resulting in more than double the amount of denials than any other adjudicative criteria. So, what should security clearance seekers mind while they’re going through the process? Lindy Kyzer is the editor of ClearanceJobs.com, a former Defense Department employee and a GovExec contributor . As part of our #MoneyMond...
Mar 28, 2022•15 min•Season 3Ep. 23
The COVID-19 pandemic has gone on for more than two years, with vaccines helping stabilize certain parts of American life. Many employers are looking to return millions of employees to the office soon. Laura Putnam is a workplace well-being expert, an international public speaker and the author of the book Workplace Wellness That Works . She joined the podcast to discuss how organizations bring workers back to offices and workforce flexibility. *** Join GovExec Daily on Clubhouse! https://www.cl...
Mar 25, 2022•16 min•Season 3Ep. 22
The COVID-19 pandemic has taught government many things about the workforce, mission delivery and customer service. A new report by Deloitte outlines more trends that agencies must heed so it can better face 2022 and beyond. William D. Eggers is the executive director of Deloitte’s Center for Government Insights, where he is responsible for the firm’s public sector thought leadership. He’s also one of the co-authors of the Deloitte report titled “Government Trends 2022.” His most recent book is ...
Mar 24, 2022•17 min•Season 3Ep. 21
The COVID-19 crisis enters its third year at a crossroads in the U.S. As vaccination rates stall, calls for boosters and shots for children under five have become louder. Government will have to adjust and better prepare for potential variants and waves of the disease. A bipartisan bill to better equip the government for future pandemics is now gaining momentum in Congress and the plan would reform some federal hiring practices and boost interagency collaboration so all levels of government won’...
Mar 23, 2022•21 min•Season 3Ep. 20
President Donald Trump left office 14 months ago, but his legacy on federal workforce policy remains. Earlier this month, a group of lawmakers introduced legislation that would reinstate four of the former president’s since-rescinded executive orders covering the federal workforce. GovExec reporter Erich Wagner covers the federal workforce. He joined the podcast to discuss the bill and the future of a renewed set of Trump workforce policies....
Mar 22, 2022•15 min•Season 3Ep. 19
Tax season can be stressful for Americans. As the filing deadline approaches, a new report from the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University shows that Internal Revenue Service audit numbers were skewed toward lower earners during fiscal year 2021, further highlighting staffing issues at the agency Dr. Susan B. Long is the co-founder and co-director of TRAC and the author of the report headlined “IRS Audits Poorest Families at Five Times the Rate for Everyone Else.” As p...
Mar 21, 2022•16 min•Season 3Ep. 18
It’s been two years since the U.S. and, thus, the federal workforce went on lockdown. Feds had to balance life, work and stress while the uncertainty of a deadly disease and uncertain timeline hung over them. The move to telework and hybrid work helped. It was hard at first, but it was better in the long run for the feds that we talked to. Even as Biden promises feds will be back in offices, it looks more and more like hybrid will be the new normal for public servants in the COVID and post-COVID...
Mar 17, 2022•20 min•Season 3Ep. 17
On March 15, 2020, then-Acting Director of the Office of Management and Budget Russ Vought sent a memo calling for all DC-area federal agencies to offer maximum telework. The memo did not have a timeframe in mind for maximum telework. Two years later, many public servants are still working remotely. COVID-19 variants have come and gone. A push to develop a vaccine turned into a push to get as many Americans vaccinated as possible. Despite case numbers, states are removing mask mandates and, duri...
Mar 16, 2022•14 min•Season 3Ep. 15
Government modernization has never been more important than it is now. With online services becoming the norm and data flowing like water, governments need to move from the old ways of mission delivery, including improving online customer service, applications and software. Tom Nieto is the Chief Operating Officer of Accela, a company designing and delivering government software. He joined the podcast to discuss government-as-a-platform. --- Join GovExec Daily on Clubhouse on March 17 to discuss...
Mar 15, 2022•19 min•Season 3Ep. 14
Access to timely, reliable, and identifiable epidemiological data is vital to positive health outcomes for any population. Over the past few years, though, epidemiological data collection has been flawed between tribal epidemiology centers and federal agencies, affecting Native communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. In a new report, GAO found that these issues with information sharing could have devastating health outcomes for these communities. Alexandra Kelley is a reporter Nextgov. She joi...
Mar 14, 2022•14 min•Season 3Ep. 13
The two years of the pandemic’s shift to telework have changed the way public servants do their jobs. As agencies transition more to a hybrid environment, feds and managers will have to learn to adjust to a new work environment and new ways to communicate with one another. As part of Government Executive and Nextgov’s Future of Work event recently , GovExec Executive Editor Tanya Ballard Brown spoke to Rob Shriver, who is Associate Director for Employee Services at the Office of Personnel Manage...
Mar 11, 2022•19 min•Season 3Ep. 12
For five years, the Merit Systems Protection Board was without a quorum, leaving thousands of current and former federal employees in limbo, unable to receive a decision on their challenges against adverse personnel actions like whistleblower retaliation cases and unfair firings. But, the MSPB is functional now, after the Senate approved two of President Biden’s three nominees last week. Dan Meyer is an attorney and Managing Partner of Tully Rinckey’s D.C office. Before the Merit Systems Protect...
Mar 10, 2022•15 min•Season 3Ep. 11
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has capsized the world’s political order and the United States has not gone unscathed in the process. With NATO and alliances with Russia’s neighbors, America’s leaders have to navigate the situation deftly. More granularly, the federal government is working to get federal employees, service members and other Americans in Ukraine to safety as Russia strafes cities as part of its campaign. GovExec reporters Courtney Bublé and Eric Katz joined the podcast discuss the l...
Mar 09, 2022•19 min•Season 3Ep. 10
The COVID-19 crisis has presented a series of challenges for public servants and their managers. Despite President Joe Biden’s endorsement of in-office work for feds lately, telework and hybrid work are here to stay. Managers have to find ways to continue to lead their teams and find new ways to communicate, collaborate and learn in this new environment. Steven L. Katz held legal and management positions in the Senior Executive Service during the Clinton administration, served in the Clinton Whi...
Mar 08, 2022•25 min•Season 3Ep. 9
After reports that the former president destroyed documents, the House Oversight and Reform Committee is expanding its investigation into the state of records from Donald Trump’s administration. Late last month, committee chairwoman Rep Carolyn Maloney sent a letter to the National Records and Archives Administration for more information on the Trump administration’s records management. Natalie Alms is a staff writer at FCW covering federal technology policy, service delivery, customer experienc...
Mar 07, 2022•18 min•Season 3Ep. 8
Last month, President Joe Biden nominated Ketanji Brown Jackson to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer . Jackson, a judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, is the first Black woman nominated to serve on the high court. Her confirmation hearings are expected to be contentious, with her race and gender as flash points. Dr. Emerald Christopher-Byrd is an Assistant Professor of Women & Gender Studies at the University of Delaware. She is the author of the upco...
Mar 04, 2022•21 min•Season 3Ep. 7
This month marks the second anniversary of nationwide pandemic lockdowns and the OMB maximum telework memo for federal employees. In those two years, many federal employees have switched to remote work and stayed there, with the Biden administration advising agencies to explore hybrid work. But, some members of Congress are trying to force a pre-pandemic work situation with some bills in Congress that would bring feds back to offices soon. GovExec senior reporter Erich Wagner covers the federal ...
Mar 03, 2022•17 min•Season 3Ep. 6
What do Harry Truman, Wanda Sykes and Steve Carell all have in common? They all worked for federal agencies early in their careers. Tom Shoop is the Editor-at-Large of GovExec. He has a story on GovExec headlined "Why This Federal Agency Is a Breeding Ground for Celebrities. " He joined the podcast to discuss break just how many former feds ended being big-time celebrities....
Mar 02, 2022•15 min•Season 3Ep. 5
The General Services Administration and the Office of Management and Budget have rolled out the Draft PMA Learning Agenda in connection to the President’s Management Agenda. The document will encourage collaboration and research to close evidence gaps within, beyond, and in partnership with the government. As with all things connected to evidence-based policy, the interplay between policymakers and researchers will be key to progress and mission success. Dr. Donald F. Kettl is professor emeritus...
Mar 01, 2022•20 min•Season 3Ep. 4
