GovExec Daily

On Monday, President Joe Biden unveiled his budget request that would increase base discretionary spending levels over the levels in the recently enacted omnibus bill. Included in that increase would be a significant increase in hiring for agencies throughout the federal government.

GovExec reporter Eric Katz is covering the budget. He joined the podcast to discuss some of the big takeaways from the Biden blueprint.

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With American support for Ukraine in its war against Russia as a backdrop, President Biden warned of increased potential of cyberattacks on critical infrastructure in the United States last week. The White House put out a statement renewing its calls for all organizations to bolster their cyber defenses, writing that Russia "could conduct malicious cyber activity against the United States."

​​Peter Romness is a Cybersecurity Principal in the Public Sector CTO Office at Cisco Systems Inc. He joined the podcast to discuss cyberdefense in light of increased fears about hacks.

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Less than three weeks after the president signed the $1.5 trillion full-year appropriations package that Congress passed, the White House released its new budget blueprint document on Monday. The plan emphasizes a range of administration priorities like DEIA, customer service and a pay raise for federal employees.

Tanya Ballard Brown is Executive Editor at GovExec and Courtney Bublé is a reporter at GovExec. They joined the podcast to discuss the budget budget document that the White House released on Monday.

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Getting a security clearance is a tough process and one that can be derailed by a number of issues. In 2016, for example, financial issues were the biggest cause of clearance denial, resulting in more than double the amount of denials than any other adjudicative criteria. So, what should security clearance seekers mind while they're going through the process?

Lindy Kyzer is the editor of ClearanceJobs.com, a former Defense Department employee and a GovExec contributor. As part of our #MoneyMonday series, she joined the podcast to discuss how your finances could affect the security clearance process.

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The COVID-19 pandemic has gone on for more than two years, with vaccines helping stabilize certain parts of American life. Many employers are looking to return millions of employees to the office soon.

Laura Putnam is a workplace well-being expert, an international public speaker and the author of the book Workplace Wellness That Works. She joined the podcast to discuss how organizations bring workers back to offices and workforce flexibility. ***

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The COVID-19 pandemic has taught government many things about the workforce, mission delivery and customer service. A new report by Deloitte outlines more trends that agencies must heed so it can better face 2022 and beyond.

William D. Eggers is the executive director of Deloitte's Center for Government Insights, where he is responsible for the firm's public sector thought leadership. He's also one of the co-authors of the Deloitte report titled "Government Trends 2022." His most recent book is Delivering on Digital: The Innovators and Technologies that Are Transforming Government. He joined the podcast to discuss 2022 government trends and the report.

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The COVID-19 crisis enters its third year at a crossroads in the U.S. As vaccination rates stall, calls for boosters and shots for children under five have become louder. Government will have to adjust and better prepare for potential variants and waves of the disease. A bipartisan bill to better equip the government for future pandemics is now gaining momentum in Congress and the plan would reform some federal hiring practices and boost interagency collaboration so all levels of government won't make the same mistakes they did in early 2020 when the next pandemic hits.

GovExec reporter Eric Katz is covering COVID-19. He joined the show to discuss COVID-19 legislation and the government response to pandemics.

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President Donald Trump left office 14 months ago, but his legacy on federal workforce policy remains. Earlier this month, a group of lawmakers introduced legislation that would reinstate four of the former president's since-rescinded executive orders covering the federal workforce.

GovExec reporter Erich Wagner covers the federal workforce. He joined the podcast to discuss the bill and the future of a renewed set of Trump workforce policies.

Tax season can be stressful for Americans. As the filing deadline approaches, a new report from the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University shows that Internal Revenue Service audit numbers were skewed toward lower earners during fiscal year 2021, further highlighting staffing issues at the agency

Dr. Susan B. Long is the co-founder and co-director of TRAC and the author of the report headlined "IRS Audits Poorest Families at Five Times the Rate for Everyone Else." As part of #MoneyMonday, she joined the show to discuss her research, the IRS and how it affects the workforce.

It's been two years since the U.S. and, thus, the federal workforce went on lockdown. Feds had to balance life, work and stress while the uncertainty of a deadly disease and uncertain timeline hung over them.

The move to telework and hybrid work helped. It was hard at first, but it was better in the long run for the feds that we talked to. Even as Biden promises feds will be back in offices, it looks more and more like hybrid will be the new normal for public servants in the COVID and post-COVID eras.

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