Federal Drive Show Blog – May 20, 2013

On the Federal Drive show blog, you can listen to our interviews, find more information about the guests on the show each day, as well as links to other stories...

This is the Federal Drive show blog. Here you can listen to the interviews, find more information about the guests on the show each day and links to additional resources.

Today’s guests:

Pam Wright
chief information officer
National Archives and Records Administration

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Innovation is a buzz word in federal Washington. But what does it mean really? Harvard University recently called the National Archives’ Citizen Archivist Initiative one of the best government innovations. NARA chief innovation officer Pam Wright says it’s about getting the public to help the agency organize its treasure trove.

John Whitley
former director
Office of Program Analysis and Evaluation, DHS

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Over the past decade, the Department of Homeland Security has poured money and resources into securing the nation’s borders. Illegal immigration to the United States has dropped. But a new report suggests one might not have much to do with the other. John Whitley is a former DHS official and one of the authors of the Council on Foreign Relations report “Managing Illegal Immigration to the United States.”

Bonner Cohen
senior fellow
The Competitive Enterprise Institute

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What might be the nation’s most critical infrastructure is mostly out of sight. It’s the system that produces and delivers drinkable water to every tap. The water system needs hundreds of billions of dollars in upgrades from federal, state and local agencies who don’t have the money. The Competitive Enterprise Institute believes a different approach to traditional government contracting can help solve the problem.

Tim Unruh
program manager
Federal Energy Management Program, DoE

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President Barack Obama has directed agencies to spend $2 billion on performance-based contracts to improve energy efficiency. Energy Savings Performance Contracts let agencies carry out green projects without investing money up front. Changes are coming to how they operate.

From Our Reporters

When it comes to stopping sexual assaults in the U.S. military, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel says he agrees with President Barack Obama: There’s no single silver bullet. But he believes one root cause is a breakdown in commanders’ accountability. Federal News Radio’s Jared Serbu has more.

MORE FROM THE FEDERAL DRIVE

House committee to grill ousted IRS chief (Federal News Radio)

DoD proposes lifting Medal of Honor limit (Air Force Times)

Credit Union Furlough Assistance (NAFCU)

Research finds new channels to trigger mobile malware (Phys.org)

Pentagon Recognizes Transgender Veteran, Advocates See A “Shift” (BuzzFeed)

Senate confirms physicist Moniz as energy chief (Federal News Radio)

House bill protects homeland security budget (Federal News Radio)

Franken, Walz Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Tackle VA Backlog (Sen. Al Franken)

Obama vows to end ‘scourge’ of military sex abuse (Federal News Radio)

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