The Federal Drive with Terry Gerton

No agency proposes a big rule until it gets the okay from an office little known to the public. Federal Drive host Tom Temin's guest is the permanent deputy administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Dominic Mancini, who also is a recent recipient of a 2024 Presidential Rank Award.

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The Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board has a short but somewhat turbulent history. One chairman was forced out for mismanagement. Another resigned early because the White House proposed getting rid of the board altogether. More recently, things have stabilized. In the latest Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey scores, engagement at the Chemical Safety Board rose by 29%. Federal Drive Host Tom Temin got an update from the new chairman, Steve Owens.

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After building quite a bit of momentum last year, the largest union for federal employees is celebrating its first big win in Europe.

The American Federation of Government Employees has just welcomed almost 400 civilian employees working at the Kaiserslautern Military Community Center Exchange in Germany, a move that labor organizers hope will spur union growth among federal workers stationed in Europe.

The 389 non-appropriated fund (NAF) employees all work for the Army and Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES), at 11 separate facilities as retail, food and gas station workers. While AFGE covers AAFES employees working in the United States under a single contract, it didn’t represent AAFES employees stationed abroad. Moving forward, the employees will automatically be covered under an existing contract between AAFES and AFGE.

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

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Happy New Year. The government-shutdown deadline is just a couple of weeks away. Some things never change. For a deeper look at what a second session of a troubled Congress is likely to do, Federal Drive Host Tom Temin spoke with WTOP Capitol Hill Correspondent Mitchell Miller.

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Acquisition is an eternal function to keep the government running. It is also constantly changing. Federal Drive Host Tom Temin's guest knows the ins and outs, having just left the General Services Administration as commissioner of its Federal Acquisition Service. For what buyers and sellers can expect in the year ahead, we hear from Sonny Hashmi.

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From a sheer numbers perspective, the cybersecurity workforce appears to be in a perpetual crisis.

For years, the number of qualified cybersecurity personnel has lagged far behind what’s needed to fill positions across all sectors, and the gap is only growing. And for federal agencies struggling to compete with private sector pay, the shortfall is especially acute.

But over the past six months, the White House, agencies and other organizations have said they’ll take concrete steps to address the persistent shortages. That makes 2024 a key year for realizing those commitments.

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The Office of Personnel Management had a busy year, managing to push out plenty of proposed regulations during 2023 that aim to reform federal hiring and improve workforce challenges.

Even more plans and changes appear to lie ahead, though many may come in smaller bites, and require leadership from chief human capital officers (CHCOs) and other workforce experts in government.

“We are fundamentally rethinking hiring in government,” OPM Director Kiran Ahuja said during a Dec. 12 CHCO Council meeting. “Our big focus has been on utilizing pooled hiring, where multiple agencies with the same need can take advantage of one hiring action … It is so incredible of a tool that we have at our disposal right now.”

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The Office of Federal Procurement Policy turns 50 years old in 2024. While the federal acquisition community has come a long way since 1974, the next few years, let alone the next 50 years, will be all about the acquisition workforce.

Christine Harada, the senior advisor in OFPP, said the Biden administration’s acquisition workforce priorities for 2024 and beyond start with ensuring agencies have the appropriate people who are trained and supported, and who have the necessary skillsets for today, tomorrow and the long-term.

“We’re working to build our best inspired, engaged acquisition workforce. That, of course, requires an environment that attracts new talent and offers modern training and development opportunities, where the acquisition workforce members actually build communities both inside and across federal agencies through networking and other learning opportunities,” Harada said in an interview with Federal News Network.

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

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