In Depth Show Blog – May 24, 2013

On the In Depth 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 and ...

This is the In Depth show blog. Here you can listen to our interviews, find more information about the guests on the show each day, as well as links to other stories and resources we discuss.

Today’s Interviews:

Jim Taylor
Chief Financial Officer
Labor Department

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The best of the best auditors across the federal government are claiming some recognition. The Association of Government Accountants recently awarded 20 federal agencies with its Certificate of Excellence in Accountability Reporting. The Labor Department was one of those agencies. Jim Taylor, chief financial officer at Labor, spoke with Francis about the good practices his agency employs that helped them win this award.

(The Federal Drive spoke with another CEAR winner — Steve Goss with SSA. Listen to that interview here.)

Tim McManus
Vice President, Education and Outreach
Partnership for Public Service

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Hiring freezes and retention issues across government are starting to show. A group of HR experts exchanged ideas this week on how to creatively deal with those challenges. The event was put on by the Partnership for Public Service. Tim McManus, vice president for Education and Outreach at the Partnership, spoke with Francis about what came out of the workshop.

Larry Clinton
President
Internet Security Alliance

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The private sector already knows the concept of a social contract. The communications and electrical industries have been perfecting them for years. But now, some are calling for a social contract for the cyber world. Larry Clinton, president of the Internet Security Alliance, is one of those people. He joined Francis to discuss the idea behind a cyber social contract.

(View a presentation by Clinton here. Click on “ISA Overview Presentations” and then “Presentation to AIA CIO Members.”)

Gordon Adams
Professor of International Relations
American University

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Two high-level Defense budget documents are in the hands of Congress. They’re now looking at the fiscal 2014 overseas contingency operations request and the fiscal 2013 reprogramming request. Gordon Adams, professor of International Relations at the School of International Service for American University, spoke with Francis about the requests and what Congress is likely to do about them. Adams is also a Distinguished Fellow at the Stimson Center and a former OMB Defense budget leader.

Also on the show:

From Our Reporters:

  • The Department of Veterans Affairs has moved to an oldest-claims-first approach as it continues to struggle against a backlog of more than 500,000 overdue claims for disability payments. VA says it’s working. A month from now, officials expect they’ll have cleared out every claim that’s been pending for two years or more. Federal News Radio’s Jared Serbu covered a recent hearing on the backlog. Read his article and listen to his report.
  • The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is feeling the heat on office space. Congress thinks the agency is moving too slowly to consolidate more than 1.2 million square feet of office space. A House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee wants to know why NRC spent millions of dollars to renovate office space that it may never use. Federal News Radio’s Jason Miller covered a recent hearing on the issue. Listen to his interview with Francis or read his report.
  • DoD acquisition leaders are making the rounds inside and outside Washington, explaining the latest iteration of Better Buying Power. They’re also telling industry they’re sensitive to concerns about a growing oversight bureaucracy. Federal News Radio’s Jared Serbu has been covering the issue. Listen to his report.
  • 115,000 federal employees have the day off today due to sequestration furloughs. Federal News Radio Senior Correspondent Mike Causey told Francis the news isn’t all bad. Listen to their discussion.

More News:

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