Federal Drive

Federal Drive interviews – July 11

An Army Reserve recruiter describes how DoD is trying to develop a more diverse workforce in a time of peace. The assistance IG for TIGTA describes how the s...

Federal News Network Staff

July 11, 2012 9:19 am

1 min read

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.

Brig. Gen. Juan Ruiz — deputy commander of a West Coast logistics unit, Army Reserve

The Army Reserve has ramped up like the rest of the military over the last decade. But as operations wind down in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Reserve is focusing on maintaining a diverse corps. That means recruiting active-duty soldiers at the end of their engagements and reaching out to young people.

Alan Duncan — Assistant Inspector General, Treasury Inspector General Tax Administration

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius does all the talking about the Affordable Care Act. But the IRS has the difficult job of carrying out and enforcing the individual mandate. Commissioner Doug Shulman says the IRS barely has enough people to do its main work, collecting taxes. The Treasury Inspector General for Tax administration is also worried about this. Duncan has an assessment of IRS readiness.

Maria Foscarinis — Executive Director, National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty

Selling off property that you don’t need seems like a painless way to make some cash. The White House and Congress are all abuzz about ways to make the disposal of federal real estate easier and faster. But no matter which political party they are in…they all have to contend with a staunch challenger on this issue. The National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty has helped maintain laws that require these federal buildings to be used for the homeless whenever possible. They become shelters or soup kitchens.

Carlo Munoz — Reporter, The Hill newspaper

The Pentagon is cutting funding for Afghanistan National Security Forces to the tune of a billion dollars. The Defense Department says big changes to training and equipment needs have freed up the money to be directed elsewhere. They say there’s still “adequate funding to provide full support.” One program that will benefit from the re-directed funds is the Navy’s drone fleet.

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