The Federal Drive with Terry Gerton

Contractors will, somehow, be living under it, and there's still time to comment on it: The revision to NIST special publication 800-171 on protection of controlled, unclassified information. That's not the only cyber policy affecting contractors. For more, Federal Drive Host Tom Temin spoke with the Executive Vice President for Policy at the Professional Services Council, Stephanie Kostro.

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Agency spending on blockchain is a tiny fraction of total technology spending. But it's important and growing, according to analysis by Deltek, a company focused on delivering software and information solutions. For more on what Deltek is spending and why, Federal Drive Host Tom Temin spoke with Alex Rossino, Deltek Advisory Research Analyst.

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The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded a 90-plus million grant with the purpose of improving understanding of weather. It went to the University Corporation for Atmosphere Research. The result will be an airborne phased radar giving 3-D pictures of weather phenomena. For the details, Federal Drive Host Tom Temin spoke with NSF's Chief Officer for Research Facilities, Linnea Avallone.

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A federal service used by financial institutions to verify Social Security numbers, recently highlighted as a prime example for how the government could reduce improper payments and fraud, is at risk of a “death spiral” due to a steep increase in user fees, according to proponents of the system.

The Government Accountability Office is now conducting a review of the Social Security Administration’s electronic Consent Based Social Security Number Verification (eCBSV) program after lawmakers flagged concerns with cost overruns and price increases.

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If the fiscal 2024 budget process was a baseball game, we’d still be in the early innings. And like in baseball, where no lead is safe, what the bills look like today is far from what they will look like on Oct. 1 or Nov. 1 or even Jan. 1, whenever Congress passes, and the president signs, a final set of spending bills.

The one thing that seems certain, is lawmakers will not get the budget done by Oct. 1, leaving agencies with yet another continuing resolution and opening the door, ever so slightly, for the return of the “S” word — sequestration.

Just don’t say to more than three times, or like Beetlejuice, if you say it too often, it will appear out of the ether.

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

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Coming back from its holiday recess, both chambers of Congress have a lot of business to take care of before their next one. With nominations and appropriations on the agenda, Federal Drive Executive Producer Eric White spoke with Bloomberg Government's Loren Duggan, to get all the details.

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The federal Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR) has aided neophyte companies in a variety of domains. The EPA is among the agencies with an active SBIR program. But there's a nagging problem, according to the EPA's office of inspector general: conflicts of interest in SBIR contracts. For more, Federal Drive Host Tom Temin spoke with IG Special Agent Nic Evans.

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A new Supreme Court ruling seems to throw a wrench into the False Claims Act, in particular the "qui tam" cases where a whistleblower stands to benefit from revealing false claims. It gives the Justice Department greater authority to toss out certain cases. For analysis, Federal Drive Host Tom Temin spoke with whistleblower attorney Steve Kohn of Kohn, Kohn Colapinto.

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When National Security Innovation Capital (NSIC) obligated its available funds for the current year, it marked a milestone for the three-year-old government-backed venture fund. After starting as an idea — exploring whether the government can make an impact on early-stage hardware production to benefit the Defense Department — it quickly developed into a working fund with 17 companies in its portfolio.

The initial seed money from Congress spanned five years at $15 million per fiscal year after the first year with a mandate of providing funds to start-up hardware companies that could provide the Defense Department much-needed products from secure domestic sources.

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