The Federal Drive with Terry Gerton

At a ceremony earlier this week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken presented five American companies, large and small, with the department's Award for Corporate Excellence. The awards recognize companies that reflect the administration's focus areas when it comes to corporate diplomacy. To learn more about this year's awards, Federal Drive Executive Producer spoke to Special Representative for Commercial and Business Affairs at the State Department, Sarah Morgenthau.

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

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Congress once again has its sights set on making changes to federal benefits in more ways than one.

Under one reintroduced bill, former temporary and seasonal federal employees would get a chance to make “catch-up” contributions in their retirement accounts.

Reps. Derek Kilmer (D-Wash.), Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), Don Bacon (R-Neb.) and David Valadao (R-Calif.) reintroduced the Federal Retirement Fairness Act last week.

Even though many temporary feds eventually transition to permanent employment in the government, seasonal and temporary federal employees currently don’t have the opportunity to make retirement contributions during their time spent in their previous, temporary roles.

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Whether its the war in Ukraine, the war in Israel, the House speaker race or any of a zillion controversial topics, everyone has an opinion. As federal employees, can you express your opinions out loud and not get fired for it? For advice, Federal Drive Hose Tom Temin spoke with federal employment attorney John Mahoney.

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There is now more cyber guidance than ever for the companies that do business with the government. You can also expect even more when it comes to other new technologies, like artificial intelligence. Congress seems to be back up and running, and there is business to attend to. To start with, reauthorizing a major component of the Homeland Security Department, and also funding the rest of the government. For analysis, Federal Drive Executive Eric White spoke with Stephanie Kostro, Executive Vice President at the Professional Services Council.

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Recently, the Senior Executives Association announced the winners of its annual awards program. Among this year's winners was Avie Snow. Now retired, Snow spent several years as a financial manager for the Coast Guard, the Homeland Security Department, and ending at Veterans Affairs. Federal Drive Executive Producer Eric White got the chance to speak with Avie to learn more about her career path.

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

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The number of unfilled cybersecurity positions across the world continues to grow, despite an overall increase in the cyber workforce, as security professionals struggle with understaffing, burnout and persistent skills gaps, according to a new report.

The annual workforce report released today by the International Information System Security Certification Consortium, known as ISC2, shows the global cybersecurity workforce has reached a record-high 5.5 million people, up 8.7% from 2022.

But roughly 4 million more cyber professionals are needed worldwide, with the gap widening by 12% from last year.

“It is great news that the number of professionals coming in is increasing,” Tara Wisniewski, executive vice president for advocacy, global markets and member engagement at ISC2, said in an interview. “But the gap is scary and getting scarier.”

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The Biden administration is calling for a “governmentwide AI talent surge” across the federal workforce to build up its capacity to lead on this emerging technology.

President Joe Biden, in an executive order Monday, is requiring agencies to set comprehensive policies for how they will use AI tools internally to further the business of government.

The White House, in a fact sheet, said the executive order also “directs the rapid hiring of AI professionals, as part of a governmentwide AI talent search.”

Biden, speaking at the White House, said that “without the right safeguards in place, AI can lead to discrimination, bias and other abuses.”

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The House of Representatives has a speaker, for now. That was a heavy lift. What comes next now that Capitol Hill is operational again. For this week's outlook, Federal Drive Host Tom Temin spoke with Bloomberg Government deputy news director Loren Duggan.

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