Monday - Friday, 6-10 a.m.

Hosts Tom Temin and Emily Kopp bring you the latest news affecting the federal community each weekday morning. Be up-to-date before you step in the office.

Employee unions march on Capitol Hill to stop sequestration

AFGE, AFSCME rally against the potential cuts from sequestration as part of their week-long legislative conference. Union members are meeting with lawmakers to ensure they understand the broader impact cuts due to sequestration would have on the nation and the economy.

1

Federal Drive Interviews -- Feb. 13, 2013

Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) talks about his plans as the new chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Greg Kutz of TIGTA discusses new progress being made by the IRS in recruitment and hiring. Jennifer Martinez, staff writer at The Hill newspaper, discusses the new Executive Order on cybersecurity. Don Kettl of the University of Maryland's School of Public Policy offers insight on the State of the Union speech.

Comment

Wednesday morning federal headlines - Feb. 13, 2013

The Morning Federal Newscast is a daily compilation of the stories you hear Federal Drive hosts Tom Temin and Emily Kopp discuss throughout the show each day. The Newscast is designed to give FederalNewsRadio.com users more information about the stories you hear on the air. In today's news, the Senate takes its first crack at immigration reform and the Federal Housing Administration chief will try to convince a House panel today that the agency does not need a bailout.

Comment

Military issues dire warnings of readiness crisis, decries political gridlock

Among the warnings the military's top uniformed officers delivered to the Senate Tuesday: Half of Marine Corps units will fall below readiness standards by the end of the year, the Army will have to curtail training for 80 percent of its ground forces and shipyards are already becoming short-staffed because of DoD's hiring freeze.

4

Senate panel approves Hagel for Pentagon chief

Divided Senate panel approves Obama nomination of Chuck Hagel to be defense secretary

Comment

White House issues cyber order, giving NIST, DHS lead roles

Senior administration officials say the Executive Order is not a replacement for comprehensive cybersecurity legislation, but the start of a new conversation for how best to protect the nation's critical infrastructure. NIST released an RFI Tuesday as part of its effort to create a voluntary, flexible framework. And DHS will expand the number of companies the government shares classified and unclassified cyber threat information with through the Defense Industrial Base pilot.

Comment

Obama calls on Congress to stop sequestration, pass cyber bill

President Obama used his State of the Union speech Tuesday night to reiterate common management themes that have been part of the administration's push over the last four years.

3

Likely Treasury chief Lew faces early budget tests

Likely Treasury chief Lew will need to fight budget battles with Congress in early months

Comment

Top officers issue urgent warning over budget cuts

US military's top leaders says looming spending cuts may leave troops unprepared for combat

3

Are contractors exaggerating sequestration impact?

As sequestration draws nearer, contractor groups have pointed to alarming studies that show the 9 percent in across-the-board Defense cuts would throw at least 1 million people out of work and potentially cripple the defense and aerospace industries. But in a new report, the Center for International Policy, a nonprofit group which advocates reducing military spending, presented evidence that far fewer defense-sector jobs would be lost than industry has claimed and that defense companies would likely be able to absorb the defense cuts.

3

Lawmaker: Cyberattacks against US getting worse

House Intelligence Committee head worries about US vulnerability to devastating cyberattacks

Comment

Federal Drive Interviews -- Feb.12, 2013

The President is considering issuing an Executive Order to prevent government contractors from discriminating against gay and lesbian employees. Debra Roth, partner at Shaw, Bransford and Roth, joins the Legal Loop to discuss. The White House is also getting set to release an executive order on cybersecurity information sharing. A new research report from Microsoft attempts to explain the factors behind why some countries have excellent cybersecurity performance and others lag behind. Paul Nicholas of Microsoft explains the findings.

Comment

Tuesday morning federal headlines - Feb. 12, 2013

The Morning Federal Newscast is a daily compilation of the stories you hear Federal Drive hosts Tom Temin and Emily Kopp discuss throughout the show each day. The Newscast is designed to give FederalNewsRadio.com users more information about the stories you hear on the air. In today's news, public health service officers are trying to amend a Senate bill so that they get paid during a government shutdown.

Comment

Military weighs cutbacks, shifts in drone programs

Military weighs cutbacks, shifts in drone programs to save money, face evolving threats

Comment

Military benefits extended to same-sex partners

Pentagon extends benefits to same-sex partners of service members; not healthcare, housing

Comment

Senate Democrats craft bill to avert budget cuts

Senate Democrats craft bill to avert automatic budget cuts to Pentagon, domestic programs

3

Senate panel to vote Tuesday on Hagel nomination

Senate committee to vote Tuesday on Hagel nomination as Dem chairman rejects GOP demands

Comment

Inside the Reporter's Notebook: 2014 IT budget passback is much ado about nothing

News and buzz from the last two weeks includes a new legislative proposal from Rep. Darrell Issa on suspension and debarment and round two of the Presidential Innovation Fellows program.

Comment

Could cutting service contracts avert sequestration furloughs?

In an analysis prepared for the American Federation of Government Employees, contracting expert Charles Tiefer said that agency managers have a number of tools at their disposal to legally scale back service-contract spending and that doing so would be preferable to federal furloughs.

15

SBA head Karen Mills resigning

Karen Mills, the head of the Small Business Administration, is resigning. Mills says she will stay on until a successor is confirmed.

Comment