GovExec Daily

When Congress started addressing the coronavirus pandemic with relief bills in 2020, billions of federal dollars started flowing to local and state governments to deal with the crisis. Now as these governments shape their goals and priorities, they're turning to advances in machine learning, combined with automation, to effectively identify and prevent fraud, waste, and abuse cases, while ensuring transparency in government and the public.

As part of GovExec Media's Roadmap to Modernization event recently, Route Fifty Senior Editor Bill Lucia spoke to Marty LaMar, Chief Economic Development Officer of the City of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In this episode, they talk about the importance of responsibly managing public funds.

Last week, good government group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington filed a Hatch Act complaint with OSC against White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki for comments she made about the Virginia gubernatorial race.

Courtney Bublé is a reporter for us at Government Executive. She joined the podcast to discuss her story on the Psaki situation and the Hatch Act.

Government agencies and offices can sometimes seem opaque or theoretical, but if you speak to any military veteran, the Veterans Benefits Administration is very real and the services it provides are quite important to veterans. Our guest today was an official at VBA and has a new book about his time at the agency.

Dr. Paul R. Lawrence served as the Under Secretary of Benefits at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs from 2018-2021, is a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration and a published author on the subject of government management. His latest book is Transforming Service to Veterans. He joined the podcast to talk about the book and the paths to government transformation.

According to surveys, the last 18 months have reoriented the way people see work. In turn, retirement may be a more attractive option for those reevaluating their relationships to their jobs. As 2022 fast approaches, plenty of federal employees are looking at the calendar and considering when to retire.

Tammy Flanagan writes the weekly Retirement Planning column for us here at GovExec, including the annual Best Dates to Retire column that posted this week. She runs her own consulting business and also provides individual counseling as well as online training for the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association, Plan Your Federal Retirement and the Federal Long Term Care insurance Program. She joins the program to talk about the best dates to retire column .

The pandemic has taken a heavy economic toll on municipalities across America. As a result, two-thirds of U.S. cities are planning to use funds from the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act to cover lost revenue. The National League of Cities annual fiscal survey, released last Tuesday, underscored how important federal funding has been for maintaining services and mitigating the financial impact of the pandemic.

Andrea Noble is a staff correspondent for Routefifty.com she joins the show to discuss her reporting on the issue and much more.

Last Friday marked the deadline for the majority of Veterans Affairs Department employees to complete their vaccinations against COVID-19. But as of today, more than 45,000 employees have yet to demonstrate that they've received the shots. The good news is that 88% of the VA workforce has been vaccinated, but the remaining 12% must submit documentation of their vaccinations by October 18th or request religious or medical accommodations.

Once the deadline passes, VA will begin to discipline unvaccinated staff. But what will that discipline look like? How long will it last? And more importantly, will it help motivate hesitant employees to get their shots? GovExec Senior Correspondent Eric Katz joins the show to discuss his reporting on the subject and much more.

The future of war is unwritten, but the Defense Department is constantly analyzing and preparing for that future. In the electromagnetic spectrum, in the wilds of cyberspace and on the battlefield, modernization is always on the minds of Pentagon officials.

As part of GovExec Media's Roadmap to Modernization event recently, Defense One Technology Editor Patrick Tucker spoke to Colonel Elizabeth Sweet, Defense Engagement Lead, at the Defense Innovation Unit and Dr. Stephen Russell, Information Sciences Division Chief, U.S. Combat Capabilities Development Command, at the Army Research Laboratory. In this episode, they talk about how the Defense Department is tackling the modernization challenges it faces.

The work of modernization of government is built with technology and with people. Programs and software need to work with the staff that uses these tools and agencies need to synthesize all the pieces of any puzzle to serve each the mission more effectively.

As part of GovExec Media's Roadmap to Modernization event recently, Nextgov Staff Correspondent, Brandi Vincent spoke to Michael Peckham, Executive Officer, Acting Chief Financial Officer & Director Financial Management Portfolio, Program Support Center at the Department of Health and Human Services. In this episode, they talk about how HHS is using technology to streamline work at the agency to better serve the mission.

The Office of Personnel Management announced recently that November 9 will be the first day federal agencies can take disciplinary action against employees who refuse the COVID-19 vaccine under President Joe Bidene's mandate. Some employees will be exempt for medical and religious reasons, but that is not necessarily a simple process, nor are those exemptions guaranteed to be approved.

Stephanie Rapp-Tully is a partner and federal employment attorney with Tully Rinckey PLLC's Washington, D.C. office. She joined the podcast to discuss vaccine policies as the deadline approaches.

The deadline for federal employees to get vaccinated in order to comply with President Joe Biden's mandate is more than a month away, but some employee groups are already balking at the rule. At the Bureau of Prisons, an agency ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic, union officials have estimated that an already bad staffing situation may be worse.

Courtney Bublé writes the Coronavirus Roundup. She joined the podcast to discuss her story on the vaccine situation at the Bureau of Prisons, as well as other pandemic news that she's been covering.