GovExec Daily

Last week, President Biden sent Congress a $6 trillion budget request for fiscal 2022 in which he said he is "recommitting to good government" partially through re-empowering the federal workforce. The full budget request follows April's release of Biden's so-called skinny budget.

GovExec Senior Correspondent Erich Wagner covers the federal workforce. He joined the podcast to discuss the budget request and how it will affect federal employees.

President Joe Biden came into office in January pledging a very different White House than his predecessor, Donald Trump. So far, this has manifested in general management style and federal personnel policy, but a specific example like Biden's recent moratorium of federal elections brings into focus the contrasts between Biden and his predecessor.

Courtney Bublé has been covering the Biden administration since January. She joined the show to talk about the two administrations she has covered at GovExec.

In the spring, President Joe Biden set a goal of 70% vaccination American rate for by July 4th. While that mark has not been met, states like Vermont and Massachusetts have surpassed that number. As the White House celebrates the so-called "summer of freedom" and states continue to relax pandemic restrictions, there are concerns that new variants can reignite the crisis.

Dr. Jessica Holzer is an Assistant Professor in Health Sciences at the University of New Haven and is an expert in public health. Her most recent work on maternal morbidities in the postpartum period has received awards and recognition from the American Public Health Association. She joined the show to discuss the state of vaccines as we passed the July 4 White House deadline.

On Thursday morning, the Supreme Court overruled a previous federal appeals court decision that held that Arizona voting laws disproportionately affected voters of color, a violation of the Voting Rights Act. The Thursday ruling is another blow to voting rights advocates, as the aftermath of the 2020 election has seen dozens of states pass dozens of laws restricting voting and making it harder for election officials to administer elections.

David Levine is the Elections Integrity Fellow at the Alliance for Securing Democracy and the author of a new report titled "How To Retain Election Officials To Secure Future Elections." He joined the show now to discuss election security and election administration.

Since the "maximum telework" memo for federal employees came down nearly 14 months ago, federal employees have kept government operations going. But, the extent to which government has lost efficacy due to the move to remote work is disputed and Republicans on the House Oversight and Reform Committee recently claimed that mission delivery has suffered. Last week, Georgia Representative Jody Hice asked inspectors general at 10 federal agencies to issue reports on the effects of remote work, writing that the telework period has led to a "less effective federal workforce."

Senior Correspondent Eric Katz is covering the story. He joined the podcast to discuss how "maximum telework" has impacted mission delivery and what Congress wants to know about it.

The federal eviction moratorium was extended last week. The reprieve will now extend until the end of July, but the burden is still on states to create rental assistance programs to avoid evictions. The moratorium provides protection for more than 43 million renters across the across the U.S., but the CDC has assured the public that this will be the last extension.

Route Fifty Staff Correspondent Andrea Noble joined the podcast to discuss the eviction ban's imminent extension and next steps.

Even in a time of pandemic-related stresses, organizations are increasingly interested in getting maximum performance out of employees. While some employees rise to the challenge of managers' high expectations, other staffers may underperform or worse. What is the level of performance pressure that managers can use to get the best out of the workforce?

Dr. Marie S. Mitchell is a professor of Management and I. W. Cousins Professor of Business Ethics at the University of Georgia's Terry College of Business. She's the lead author of the Academy of Management Journal paper titled Can You Handle the Pressure? The Effect Of Performance Pressure on Stress Appraisals, Self-Regulation, and Behavior." She joined the podcast to discuss performance management and how managers can use pressure positively in the workplace.

Last fall, when then-President Donald Trump signed the Executive Order colloquially called the Schedule F order, public administration experts, good government groups and federal public service unions vociferously criticized the order, with some even claiming it would bring the U.S. back to the spoils system. Upon taking office in January, President Joe Biden rescinded the order and many of the aforementioned groups breathed a sigh of relief. But, the issues around accountability in the civil service are far from resolved and some of those responsible for Schedule F – like James Sherk of the America First Policy Institute – are going farther in their policy proposals. The battle, as our guest today has written, for public service has just begun.

Dr. Donald F. Kettl is professor emeritus at the University of Maryland and former dean of its School of Public Policy. He recently retired from the LBJ School at the University of Texas at Austin. His latest piece on our site is headlined "The Battle for the Public Service Is Just Beginning." He joined the podcast to talk about his post and the fight for civil service reform.

Kiran Ahuja was confirmed this week as the director of the Office of Personnel Management by the Senate with Vice President Kamala Harris breaking the 50-50 party-line vote. Ahuja will be the first permanent OPM chief since March of 2020 and will step into the role of administering President Joe Biden's federal workforce policy.

Erich Wagner covers the workforce for us here at GovExec. He joined the podcast to talk about the new OPM chief, controversy around her confirmation and other stories that he has been covering.

Last week, the Biden administration designated Juneteenth as a federal holiday, marking the first time the day has been recognized nationwide as such. A report released last week by the McKinsey Institute for Black Economic Mobility and the McKinsey Global Institute identifies the biggest gaps Black people continue to face as business owners, consumers and Americans served by public programs.

JP Julien is the lead author of the report and of the co-leaders of McKinsey's Institute for Black Economic Mobility. He joined the podcast to discuss the report's findings and recommendations.