The last 12 months have been tough for small business government contractors, to say the least.There is increased scrutiny on not just the 8(a) program, but on all small business set-aside contracts. The Small Business Innovation Research Program has been on pause since October. And then there was the longest-ever government shutdown that delayed work and contract awards. But it’s all not bad news as there is now some light at the end of the SBIR tunnel. For more on how small businesses can navigate this tough time, Federal News Network executive editor Jason Miller caught up with Kim Reidy, the director of the Office of Small Business Programs for the Naval Information Warfare Systems Command and Shadi Azoum. the program manager of the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs also at NAVWAR, at the West conference in San Diego.

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Agencies may soon make their layoff decisions based on performance, rather than tenure. A new proposal from the Trump administration seeks to reverse agencies’ current order of operations when deciding who to remove, or retain, in a reduction-in-force. Here with the latest, Federal News Network’s Drew Friedman.

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Federal workers and military families are navigating one of the most complex tax seasons in recent memory. New rules on overtime, car‑loan interest, and Social Security are changing how many households will file. Here to break down the changes and what they mean in practice is Mike Meese, president of Armed Forces Mutual.

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Today on the Federal Drive with Terry Gerton

• The Schedule Policy/Career rule raises alarms about the independence of federal science
• New rules implementing the Administrative False Claims Act could expand how federal agencies pursue smaller fraud cases
• This year’s tax rules introduce new benefits and new confusion for federal workers and the military

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OPM says the creation of Schedule Policy/Career aims to increase accountability, but it may instead introduce new vulnerabilities for federal researchers. Critics warn that the change could affect not only scientific judgment today but the long‑term pipeline of expertise inside government. Peter Bonner from the Federation of American Scientists joins me now.

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The Civilian Board of Contract Appeals has issued new procedural rules to implement the Administrative False Claims Act, a revamped law that gives federal agencies greater ability to pursue smaller fraud cases involving government contracts. The changes could expand enforcement tools and raise new compliance considerations for contractors doing business with the federal government. To help unpack what the new rules mean and how companies should prepare, Federal News Network's Eric White spoke with Dan Ramish, Counsel at Haynes Boone.

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Top Department of Homeland Security officials could be deposed in a lawsuit challenging staff cuts at the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The case centers on whether DHS is allowed to enact major workforce reductions at FEMA. For more, Federal News Network’s Justin Doubleday joins me.

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The Department of the Navy is conducting a departmentwide organizational review that could lead to significant restructuring of its civilian workforce and reductions in civilian personnel. The review is part of a broader Defense Department effort to reshape its civilian workforce and align personnel and resources with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s priorities under the National Defense Strategy. Federal News Network’s Anastasia Obis has more.

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With the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau less active and running with fewer resources, many states no longer get the data they need to finish their own consumer protection cases. A new multistate lawsuit aims to restore the bureau’s full funding. We wanted to understand what that means for states like Maryland, so Federal News Network's Eric White spoke with Bill Meeks, Director of the Lending and Finance Unit in the Consumer Protection Division for Maryland’s Attorney General.

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Before an AI agent can support a mission, teams need to know how it handles uncertainty, manipulation, and unexpected inputs. That requires sandboxes built for evaluation rather than production. We talk through what that entails with AI red‑team specialist Bri Frost, Director of Product Management at Cloud Range.

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