Government Matters

High-tech intelligence gathering versus human spies

Douglas London, associate professor at Georgetown University and former senior operations officer at the Central Intelligence Agency, discusses the value of human sources for intelligence gathering and recommendations for U.S. intelligence agencies

Defense budget $782 billion for FY2022

Leo Shane III, deputy editor for Military Times, breaks down what is in the fiscal year’s defense budget, including aid money for Ukraine, funding for research and development and more

Recommendations for the White House to advance equity initiatives

Michael McAfee, president and chief executive officer of PolicyLink, discusses the government’s ability to influence racial equity and recommendations for making meaningful progress

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Current health of the defense industrial base

Col. Wesley Hallman (USAF, ret.), senior vice president for strategy and policy at NDIA, discusses findings about the health of the defense industrial base and the effect of the pandemic

Recommendations for fiscal 2023 defense spending

Maj. Gen. John Ferrari (U.S. Army, ret.), senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, explains his recommendation for a topline defense budget of $816 billion for fiscal year 2023

Higher mortality rates for vets who experienced traumatic brain injury

Jeffrey Howard, associate professor in the Department of Public Health at the University of Texas at San Antonio, shares the results of a new investigation examining mortality rates among post-9/11 veterans compared to the general population

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Meeting the Biden administration’s infrastructure goals

Christine Harada, executive director of the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council, discusses how her organization coordinates with agencies and state and local governments to streamline the permitting process for large, federal infrastructure projects

Increasing Air Force aircraft readiness rates

Deborah Lee James, former secretary of the Air Force, discusses the major problems contributing to low mission capability rates and strategies the Air Force is using to increase them

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Maintaining US competitiveness in global remote sensing market

Todd Harrison, director of the Aerospace Security Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, discusses the importance of commercial space sensing capabilities to the government and recommendations for improving access to these systems

Rethinking 5G wireless spectrum management

Brig. Gen. Robert Spalding (USAF, Ret.), senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, discusses inefficiency in electromagnetic spectrum management in the U.S. and recommendations for improvement

Cybersecurity risks to the technology supply chain

Tony Scott, former federal chief information officer, discusses major risks to the technology supply chain, the NIST cyber framework and ways to increase security

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Dealing with the threat from North Korea

Andrew Yeo, senior fellow and SK-Korea Foundation Chair at the Brookings Institution’s Center for East Asia Policy Studies, discusses the Biden administration’s actions on North Korea, the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic and recommendations for engaging with the country

Understanding the threat of biological weapons

Christine Parthemore, CEO of the Council on Strategic Risks, discusses concerns and trends related to biological weapons and the U.S. government’s work to combat the threat they pose

China’s reaction to Ukraine war

Yun Sun, senior fellow and co-director of the East Asia Program at the Stimson Center, discusses Chinese intelligence surrounding the Russian invasion of Ukraine and China’s reaction and stance going forward

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Impact of a potential Russian victory on America’s political and military strategy

Michael Kimmage, professor at the Catholic University of America, discusses Putin’s motivations and the likelihood of Russian victory in the long term

Risk of Russian cyber attack against United States

James Lewis, senior vice president and director of the Strategic Technologies Program at CSIS, discusses different possible scenarios of Russian cyber attacks against the United States and their likelihood

Leveraging technologies to improve operations and security across borders

Dan Chenok, executive director for the IBM Center for the Business of Government, discusses using innovative and emerging technology to improve information sharing between countries for border security

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Reviewing the landscape of current FEMA responses

Deanne Criswell, Federal Emergency Management Agency administrator, discusses responding to the Covid-19 pandemic, prioritizing climate resilience and mitigating the impact of severe weather disasters

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Updates on the James Webb Space Telescope  

Dr. Christyl Johnson, deputy director for technology and research investments at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, details what the James Webb Space Telescope will enable people to see that the Hubble Telescope can’t 

Coordinating oversight of large government expenditure programs 

Glenn Fine, nonresident fellow for the Governance Studies program at the Brookings Institution, discusses fraud, waste and abuse in Covid-19 spending and recommendations to mitigate similar problems in future programs 

Challenges of creating a carbon-free electric grid 

Jonathan Moch, postdoctoral research fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School Belfer Center, discusses what it will take to achieve the president’s goal of completely carbon-free electricity by 2035 

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Report details challenges of Afghanistan withdrawal

Dan Lamothe, reporter for The Washington Post, provides an in-depth look at a report detailing the Afghanistan evacuation and effort to secure the Kabul airport as thousands tried to escape the Taliban

Responding to China’s economic coercion

Emily Kilcrease, senior fellow and director of the Energy, Economics and Security Program at the Center for a New American Security, discusses her report on the lack of a clear strategy for deploying economic measures in response to crises with respect to the United States’ relationship with China

Delivering space-based solar power to the warfighter

Andrew Williams, deputy technology executive officer for Space Science & Technology at the Air Force Research Lab, explains his organization’s work developing space-based solar power into a usable energy source for national defense and the general public

Missile Defense Agency pivots focus to hypersonic systems

Vice Admiral Jon Hill, director of the Missile Defense Agency, discusses how to defend against the growing threat of hypersonic missile systems

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