The Federal Drive with Terry Gerton

Instead of asking Annie if she is okay, what if Annie asked you? That is the case now for veterans receiving treatment from the VA. The mobile and interactive service known as “Annie,” is being deployed nationwide to help vets keep up with their healthcare protocols via text message. The service, created by Accenture, has gotten a lot of positive feedback. To learn more, Federal News Network's Eric White talked with Dr. Ron Moody, Chief Medical Officer for Accenture. 

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There has been a ton of new developments regarding AI this year. It certainly has the potential to change many aspects of American industry and technology. Some members of Congress want to make sure the government is able to keep tabs on those developments and react accordingly. For more, Federal News Network's Eric White talked with Rep. Troy Carter (D-La.).

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On today's episode of the Federal Drive with Tom Temin:

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For federal employees, a bill pending in the Senate would bring expanded coverage of fertility treatments through the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) program.

But the Right to IVF Act, which Sens. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.) introduced last week, did not garner the 60 votes needed to move forward with a floor vote Thursday afternoon. Almost all Republicans voted against the measure to advance the legislation, resulting in a 48-47 tally.

The legislation rolls together three previous bills all aiming to improve access and insurance coverage for in-vitro fertilization (IVF). In part, the bill would have impacts specifically on FEHB enrollees. One component of the Right to IVF Act aims to set higher requirements for FEHB carriers to offer IVF coverage.

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If there's a universal constant among federal agencies, it's forms. Forms often get complicated and that can impede people's applications for benefits. Federal Drive Host Tom Temin's guest has been on a sort of crusade to improve and simplify forms. Kyle Gardiner is a senior policy analyst at the Office of Management and Budget and now a finalist in this year's Service to America Medals program.

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The FBI has reinstated the the security clearance of a former employee. Marcus Allen had his clearance revoked and was suspended from his role of staff operations specialist with the FBI back in February 2022, for what it called "questionable judgement," when it came to the agency's investigations into the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. One of the organization's who defended and represented Allen was Empower Oversight. To learn more about this case, Federal News Network's Eric White talke with that organization's president Tristan Leavitt.

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More than 30 county and state election programs were recently honored by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission. The EAC's Clearinghouse Awards recognize best practices in election administration. To find out just how those winners were picked and what some of those best practices are, Federal News Network's Eric White spoke with EAC Chairman Ben Hovland.

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On this episode of the Federal Drive with Tom Temin:

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A group of former senior officials is making a new and near last-ditch call to action aiming to prevent the possible resurrection of the controversial Schedule F executive order from the Trump administration.

The five former national security officials, who sent a letter to congressional committee leaders Thursday, are approaching the years-long Schedule F debate with what has been a steadily growing angle: They proposed a middle-ground answer to the question of federal workforce accountability.

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Cost plus contracts can run into trouble when the government takes five years to audit indirect costs. That is what happened to a Navy contractor, and how it has a million-dollar dispute. They are now in court. For details, Federal Drive Host Tom Temin spoke with Haynes Boone procurement attorney Zach Prince.

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