GovExec Daily

The government's current funding is set to expire December 16, the last day the September-passed continuing resolution will be in effect. But that upcoming deadline is not the only pressing issue for Congress to tackle during its lame duck session before the new Congress is seated in January.

Eric Katz is a senior correspondent for GovExec. He joined the podcast to talk about the lame duck session and the incoming Congress.

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The retooling of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program done by the Biden administration has brought loan forgiveness to many, but the program still has some issues. Because everyone's loan situation seems to be different, many miss deadlines or consolidation. While members of congress have suggested restructuring parts of the program and expanding who qualifies, there has not been much movement on PSLF program changes.

Tobin Van Ostern is one of the co-founders of Savi. He joined the podcast to discuss the Public Service Loan Forgiveness and student debt.

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With Thanksgiving and the December holidays approaching, travel and family gatherings are on the itinerary for many Americans. At this stage of the year and at this stage of the COVID-19 pandemic, protection against illnesses is key to staying healthy.

Dr. Laurie Forlano is the Deputy Director of the Office of Epidemiology and Deputy State Epidemiologist at the Virginia Department of Health. She joined the podcast to discuss what Americans need to know to protect themselves and stay healthy during the holiday season.

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Managing people is often an exercise in constant learning. Especially during a time of upheaval across government, constant development in leadership is a key component of managing people, especially in the federal government. The Office of Personnel Management is one of the places for such development via its Center for Leadership Development, which provides development and education programs for all career levels based on the Executive Core Qualifications.

As part of Government Executive's State of the Federal Workforce event recently, GovExec reporter and frequent GovExec Daily guest Eric Katz spoke to Bahar Niakan, the Deputy Associate Director at the Center for Leadership Development at OPM. In this episode, they discuss the role of workforce development and modernization in the federal workforce.

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Elon Musk's stewardship of Twitter has been chaotic, with Musk changing longstanding policy nearly every day or laying off employees en masse. Last week, President Joe Biden said that it might be worth looking into Musk's international relations with foreign countries, being that Musk's SpaceX operates its Starlink satellite internet access service to 40 countries. Additionally, SpaceX is a key private sector partner of the Pentagon and NASA, so Musk is deeply connected to the federal government.

GovExec Daily's Adam butler and Ross Gianfortune discussed the information ecosystem under Musk's Twitter era and how it affects security. Dan Meyer, Managing Partner of Tully Rinckey's D.C office, also joined the podcast to discuss what kind of national security questions Musk could face.

The federal workforce is a diverse tapestry of identities, including that of many different generational cohorts. As more Gen Z workers move into jobs, agencies must learn how to hire and retain them while also managing workers from Generation X and Millennials. In a new report, the Partnership for Public Service outlines the ways of managing an intergenerational workforce consisting of Generation X and Generation Z workers.

Paul Pietsch is a Senior Manager at the Partnership, where he oversees the federal workforce research portfolio. He is one of the authors of the report titled, "Retaining My Generation Retention Strategies for Generation X and Generation Z Federal Employees." He joined the podcast to talk about the report.

With inflation affecting all Americans, issues affecting pay and benefits are a key concern at the top of current and retired federal civil servants' minds. The Social Security Administration recently announced the highest cost of living adjustment in decades, affecting millions of federal retirees and the pay increase for current federal employees remains a point of concern for the 2 million plus public servants in the federal government.

As part of Government Executive Media Group's State of the Federal Workforce event recently, I spoke to financial planner Dallen Haws and retired fed and financial planner Abraham Grungold about the ways that federal pay and benefits are changing. In today's #MoneyMonday episode, you'll hear part of a conversation about what federal employees need to know about the TSP, retirement and other pay and benefits issues.

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Dozens of federal agencies use working dogs to help them fulfill their missions, including law enforcement and security. Keeping these dogs healthy and effective is paramount and a recent report from the Government Accountability Office suggests that agencies are falling short of those responsibilities.

Steve Morris is a Director in GAO's Natural Resource and Environment team. He directs work related to agriculture and food safety. He joined the podcast to discuss the GAO report titled Working Dogs: Federal Agencies Need to Better Address Health and Welfare.

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Historically, midterm elections favor the opposition to the party controlling the White House, but the last decade of politics suggest that history may not always be a perfect predictor. With control of Congress on the line, a lot was still up in the air when GovExec Daily went live on Twitter Spaces for an election results conversation with GovExec reporters Eric Katz and Courtney Bublé.

In this episode, you'll hear our conversation about the midterm elections and the races that affect federal employees and the business of government.

The remote work revolution has changed the way people work, including the ways that organizations bring on new hires. It may seem intuitive, but a job interview via teleconference software is quite different from an in-person interview and those differences can make or break an interview.

Amanda Augustine is career expert for TopResume and a certified professional career coach. She joined the podcast to discuss how to nail the remote interview process.

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