GovExec Daily

The Senate is close to passing a measure to expand benefits offered to veterans who became sick due to burn pits while on active duty. The plan would also authorize sweeping new authorities to hire employees and lease new facilities to handle the resulting uptick in usage of the VA health care system.

GovExec Senior Correspondent Eric Katz is covering the story. He joined the podcast to discuss the status of the bill and what it will mean for the Veterans Affairs Department.

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If you spend a lot of time online, you have probably seen social media posts from the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The agency responsible for consumer product recalls has carved out a place somewhere between weird twitter and brand twitter with its memes and posts towing the line between absurdist humor and just plain surrealism. The agency's social media team has redefined what the agency's online presence can be on social media.

Recently, GovExec correspondent and frequent GovExec Daily guest Courtney Bublé spoke to the CPSC's Joseph Galbo, a social media specialist at the agency. In this episode, Courtney interviews Galbo about how the social strategy evolved, the reaction to the CPSC's social media presence and, of course, memes.

Last month, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued a 2-1 opinion in favor of hedge fund manager George Jarkesy and investment adviser Patriot28. Their case contested the Securities and Exchange Commission's decision to charge them with wide-ranging securities fraud. The decision's text appears to argue against or, at least, minimize the role of subject matter experts and the administrative law power of federal agencies.

Conor D. Dirks is an attorney at the firm of Shaw Bransford & Roth, where he has represented federal officials and employees in all aspects of federal personnel employment law. He joined the podcast to talk about the decision and what it will mean for the administrative state.

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In October, the Biden administration revamped the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, involving a waiver program and changes to the Education Department's processes. The changes brought more than a hundred thousand people into the program, though they were needed for a 15-year-old program that was rife with confusion about communication, eligibility and breadth.

GovExec Daily spoke to public servants employees from across the country about the program and their experiences within it. Some people had their loans forgiven, while others are still in purgatory. In addition to our Q&As with borrowers, we spoke to people who fought to have their loans forgiven, with varying levels of success.

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Much has been written and said about the "Great Resignation" and its effects on American work culture. But, ultimately, organizations and employees need to see eye-to-eye on issues like respect, values and communication. How can organizations and employees work together to keep work culture clashes at a minimum for the best possible outcomes?

Lee Frederiksen is an author, business strategist and the Managing Partner at the Hinge Research Institute. He joined the podcast to discuss the new Hinge report titled "Culture Clash: The Employee Experience Problem and How to Fix It."

A new survey by consulting firm Gartner has found that the COVID-19 crisis has elevated people's values, driving them to find more purpose and meaning in their work and in their lives. As Americans reevaluate their relationships with work and their jobs, organizations will have to adjust to this new reality.

Dr. Jessica Grossmeier, PHD, MPH is an advisor, speaker, and the author of Reimagining Workplace Well-being: Fostering a Culture of Purpose, Connection, and Transcendence. She joined the podcast to discuss how the pandemic has shifted the way employees feel about work and life.

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Earlier this month, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a Washington state innkeeper does not have implied causes of action against a federal agent for alleged constitutional violations arising from the enforcement of immigration laws along the U.S.-Canada border. The ruling may create a broad precedent that legal experts have said would make it nearly impossible to sue federal officials and law enforcement.

GovExec Senior Correspondent Eric Katz is covering the case. He joined the podcast to talk about the case and what it means for federal law enforcement.

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Semi-regularly, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change releases a report that enumerates the ways that the planet is being affected by human activity. It is, in short, bad all around. Pollution ruins our waterways, animal extinction rates are up and increasing temperatures are putting life in peril. In the financial and governance world, this brings up the question: What role do finance and fintech have in the planet's degradation and what roles can they play in stemming the tide or reversing it?

Chris Skinner is a commercial strategist, an analyst and an independent commentator on the financial markets and fintech through this blog, The Finanser.com. He's also the author of dozens of books, including Digital For Good: Stand for something…or you will fall, was just released on June 1. As part of our #MoneyMonday series, he joined the show to talk about the book and how banks and fintech can be part of the future for good.

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The COVID-19 crisis continues to affectAmerican life and the federal government's response continues to evolve. Recently, AmeriCorps' named AJ Pearlman as director of Public Health AmeriCorps, a partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to support the future of public health programs nationwide.

Recently, GovExec correspondent and frequent GovExec Daily guest Courtney Bublé interviewed Pearlman about a range of issues. In this episode, you'll hear Courtney talks to Pearlman about the future of public health, COVID-19 and AmeriCorps and CDC working together.

For years, Kentucky attorney Eric C. Conn defrauded the Social Security Administration out of hundreds of millions of dollars by paying a judge to fast-track approval of SSI cases without even looking at evidence. The story is documented in the Apple TV+ series The Big Conn, which shines the spotlight on the WSJ reporter who first brought the story to the nation, the whistleblowers who flagged the story for their agency and the thousands of people whose benefits were ripped away when Conn's scheme was found out.

The four-part series is available on Apple TV+. Journalist Damian Paletta, who broke the Conn story, and executive producers Brian Lazarte and James Lee Hernandez joined the podcast to discuss Conn, the series and the role of government in the story of this massive case of fraud.