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.

Congress considers putting limits on drone strikes

Uncomfortable with the Obama administration's use of deadly drones, a growing number in Congress is looking to limit America's authority to kill suspected terrorists, even U.S. citizens.

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Agencies turn to HRStat to make better sense of workforce data

The Office of Personnel Management is doubling the number of departments to 16, taking part in data-driven reviews. The goal is to take the mounds of information available about an agency's workforce and spot trends to help plan for the future.

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Feds retire in droves in January

Federal employees retired in droves last month, with more than 22,000 filing retirement claims with the Office of Personnel Management -- about about 1,000 more than OPM expected. The agency processed 12,527 retirement claims last month, also beating its projections.

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Civilian agencies set to release sequestration details to employees

Civilian federal agencies are expected to begin telling their employees how automatic budget cuts set to go into effect in March will affect them, according to federal-employee unions who were briefed by Obama administration officials. The Office of Management and Budget gave agency heads the go-ahead to begin communicating to their employees as early as Tuesday about the possible effects of sequestration, including employee furloughs.

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Obama seeks to delay sequester with short-term fix

President Barack Obama is asking Congress for a short-term deficit reduction package of spending cuts and tax revenue that will delay the effective date of steeper automatic cuts now scheduled to kick in on March 1. Obama said the looming cuts would be economically damaging and must be avoided.

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Obama to visit Israel in first visit as president

President Barack Obama plans to visit Israel in the spring, marking his first visit to the nation since becoming president.

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Contractors can expect uncertain, difficult times ahead, expert says

Michael Tinsley, CEO of NeoSystems Corp., tells The Federal Drive with Tom Temin and Emily Kopp, there's little contractors can do to influence agencies facing impending sequestration beyond maintaining good communications and weathering the storm.

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Federal Drive Interviews -- Feb. 5, 2013

Robert Litan discusses a Bloomberg Government study about rule-making in the Obama administration. Michael Tinsley, CEO of NeoSystems Corp., offers insight on how furloughs might affect federal contractors. Procurement attorney Joe Petrillo weighs in on a a 2012 Supreme Court case that could come back to bite federal agencies facing budget cuts under sequestration. Gregory Wilshusen discusses a new GAO report on how prepared agencies are to fend of online assaults. John Palguta of the Partnership for Public Service talks about sequestration and the threat of furloughs.

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Army seeks better mental health coordination

Army leadership is looking to improve coordination among its mental health programs and other soldier-resilience efforts, acknowledging Monday that a patchwork system of tools is often confusing for both commanders and soldiers.

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Tuesday morning federal headlines - Feb. 5, 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 IRS is telling tax return prepares to obtain ID numbers and GSA has doubled the number of companies certified to sell medium-security cloud computing services to agencies.

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Senate passes bill to improve embassy security

By voice vote, the Senate passed the bipartisan measure that would give the department the authority to use surplus funds that are no longer needed in Iraq, where the United States has scaled back operations. The bill now goes to the House.

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More diversity likely in next Obama job selections

President Obama is said to be looking at diverse candidates for top slots at the departments of Commerce, Labor and Interior, and for his own White House budget office.

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OMB offers first major rewrite of grant-making, oversight processes

New proposed guidance from the Office of Management and Budget would streamline and consolidate grant regulations for every agency. Comments on the recommendations are due May 2.

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Federal Drive Interviews -- Feb. 4, 2013

Terry Weaver, president of Weaver Consulting, discusses an overhauled version of Section 508 regulations. Jamison Cush, chief editor of TechTarget's Technology Guide, talks about the new BlackBerry Z-10. Tom Lee, director of Sunlight Labs, explains what's behind "Docket Wrench," a new tool to make it easier to track actions related to proposed rules.

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Monday morning federal headlines - Feb. 4, 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 federal government shed 5,000 jobs last month.

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Obama to campaign for gun proposals in Minnesota

The fate of his gun proposals on Capitol Hill uncertain, President Barack Obama is seeking to rally support from the public and law enforcement community for his calls to ban assault weapons and install universal background checks for gun buyers.

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By year's end, troops will be unable to respond to crises, Pentagon says

Shortfalls in operating accounts would mean military units would be undertrained, underequipped and unable to deploy by the end of fiscal 2013, senior DoD officials predict.

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John Kerry to address colleagues at State Dept.

New Secretary of State John Kerry will be introducing himself to his agency's employees Monday after spending much of the weekend making connections with leaders around the world.

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Obama seeks closed loopholes, 'smart' reductions

President Barack Obama says the U.S can reduce its budget deficit by closing tax loopholes and making "smart" reductions in spending.

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Another GOP senator backs Hagel for defense post

A second Republican senator says he will back former Sen. Chuck Hagel as the next Pentagon chief.

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