GovExec Daily

Congress is in the midst of negotiations about government funding, as the legislative branch holds the power of the purse. But, the executive branch has some budgeting tools at its disposal, including one that is supposed to produce more efficient management of public funds. The Office of Management and Budget holds this tool, called apportionment, and it is often used to circumvent Congress' budget authority and is increasingly opaque.

Dylan Hedtler-Gaudette is a Government Affairs Manager at the Project on Government Oversight. He joined the show to discuss the veil of secrecy around the Office of Management and Budget and apportionments.

Internships are a good way for young people to get experience in their preferred line of work, a way to buttress a resume and a way for organizations to create a pipeline for young employees. Federal agencies have strict regulations on internship programs and how they can put interns onto a path of full employment, but the Office of Personnel Management is in the process of issuing regulations to make it easier for federal agencies to pay and offer jobs to their interns who are still in college.

GovExec senior reporter Erich Wagner covers the federal workforce. He joined the show to discuss the new OPM regulations and other stories that affect federal employees.

When President Joe Biden announced a vaccine-or-testing mandate last month for federal employees and on-site contractors, details were not available as to how the administration of the attestation or testing would happen. Now, the Justice Department is filling in the details as to how it will be able to executive the policies.

Courtney Bublé is a reporter for Government Executive who writes the coronavirus roundup. She joined the show to discuss the ways feds will have to prove they're vaccinated or have tested negative in order to work on-site.

The novel coronavirus pandemic has moved most public employees to remote work situations. But the pandemic has not stopped the need for workforce development and government has had to adjust to a new world of online training and learning. Agencies have had to pivot to virtual workforce development over the past two years.

As part of Government Executive and Nextgov's Future of Work event recently, GovExec reporter and frequent GovExec Daily guest Eric Katz spoke to Clo Taylor, Chief Learning and Engagement Officer, Department of Homeland Security. In this episode, Taylor discusses the role of training and learning in a hybrid federal environment.

With news of a vaccine-or-testing mandate for federal employees who work on-site, public servants are thinking more about coming back to offices. As summer comes to an end, federal managers are needing to navigate new "return-to-office" policies, a new hybrid work reality and a workforce that expects a different experience from work.

Kristen Vaughan is a Managing Director at Accenture Federal Services, leading the Human Capital Practice. She is one of the co-authors of a new Accenture report titled Helping Federal Workers Thrive. She joined the show to discuss what the research says that the federal government needs to do to help the workforce thrive in a time of uncertainty.

Early in 2020, EPA put out a directive that prohibits some scientists from discussing their work amongst themselves, but outside groups want the policy rescinded, saying that it prevents government scientists from properly protecting the public from hazardous materials. Others say the policy is difficult to justify. In an administration that pledged to be more amenable to science and science-based policy, the directive seems quite curious.

GovExec Senior Correspondent Eric Katz is covering the story. He joined the show to discuss the role of science in the Biden administration and EPA policy.

President Joe Biden has made diversity, equity and inclusion cornerstones of his administration. Identifying the ways headway can be made into DEI issues will be paramount to these efforts, including using the best available information.

As part of Government Executive and Nextgov's Future of Work event recently, GovExec reporter and frequent GovExec Daily guest Courtney Bublé spoke to diversity officers from four different agencies. In this episode, officials from the FBI, the State Department, the Office of Personnel Management and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence discuss the future of diversity, inclusion and equity in the federal workforce and the ways agencies are working towards a more inclusive federal government.

President Joe Biden's fiscal 2022 budget blueprint would bring on thousands of employees to the Internal Revenue Service, which the administration claims could help ameliorate years of staff losses over the past decade. That plan presents an opportunity for the IRS, but it is also a challenge, as the agency must redefine the skills and expertise required of its employees in order for the IRS to be as effective as it can be.

Dr. Ron Sanders was a federal civil servant for almost 40 years, serving in senior positions with the Defense Department, the IRS, the Office of Personnel Management, and the Internal Revenue Service. He is currently Staff Director for the Florida Center for Cybersecurity and a GovExec contributor. He is the co-author of a post on our site right now headlined "Shrinking the Tax Gap Requires a Renewed IRS Workforce." He joined the show to discuss the IRS workforce.

Using emotion in a leadership role can be effective, but gendered stereotypes about certain emotional reactions can be received in different ways depending on the gender of the leader. According to a new study, women are perceived as more effective leaders than men when they express calm, happy emotions.

Dr. Thomas Sy is an Industrial Organizational psychologist and a professor at the University of California-Riverside. He's the co-author of a new study titled "The emotional leader: Implicit theories of leadership emotions and leadership perceptions." He joined the podcast to discuss leadership and emotional expression.

June marked the 77th anniversary of the original GI Bill and the thirteenth anniversary of the Post-9/11 GI Bill. Between both, millions of veterans have used the bills' education benefits to attend college and training programs. Unfortunately, finding education outcomes is difficult and institutions are not required to comprehensively report student veteran data.

Wesley Wilson is an Army veteran, a current student at American University and a senior analyst at Grant Thornton Public Sector LLC. He is also an advocacy fellow with High Ground Veterans Advocacy and former Research Associate at the Institute for Veterans and Military Families. He has a post on GovExec.com headlined "To Combat Fraud, Colleges and Universities Must Report Student Veteran Outcome Data." He joined the show to talk about the gaps in veteran education outcome data.