The Federal Drive with Terry Gerton

From new and burdensome rules, to delays in governmentwide vehicles, to Congressional new blood, federal contractors face a daunting year. For a few items at the top of the list, Federal Drive host Tom Temin spoke with Larry Allen, federal sales and marketing consultant.

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To keep patent disputes out of the courts, Congress formed the Patent Trial and Appeal Board a few years back in the America Invents Act. A survey of patent judges conducted by the Government Accountability Office came up with a disturbing finding. Three quarters of the judges said U.S. Patent and Trademark Office management pressured them to change their decisions. To get more on this story, Federal Drive host Tom Temin spoke with Candice Wright, GAO's Director for Science, Technology Assessment, and Analytics.

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It's impossible to have a cogent health policy without data. For mental health and use of addictive or illegal substances, that's where the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) comes in. Its annual survey of Americans' use of alcohol, tobacco and drugs makes for a sometimes grim, but useful picture. For more on the survey, Federal Drive host Tom Temin spoke with Jennifer Hoenig, SAMHSA's national study director.

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After regaining a quorum, the Merit Systems Protection Board has published the first of many long-awaited, nonpartisan reports. Specifically, the board’s December publication dove into the prevalence of sexual harassment in the federal workforce. But MSPB collected the data for the report about six years ago.

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The Army’s acquisition office will launch a new group later this year as a way to bring some standardization to how it works with vendors to manage intellectual property rights. The IP cell of experts, as the Army calls it, will work across all mission areas to help educate and provide hands on assistance to contracting officers as they write solicitations.

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With Republicans in charge of the house and Democrats the Senate, you can bet on sharp disagreements over the budget. In fact, it's not too early to worry about an impasse leading to a government shutdown. To get a look into this possibility, Federal Drive host Tom Temin spoke with Mitchell Miller, WTOP's Capitol Hill Correspondent.

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Agencies across government face new requirements to develop “operations security” programs to help reduce the risk of employees inadvertently exposing sensitive but unclassified information. “OPSEC” activities have traditionally been linked with military and intelligence agencies. But in a national security presidential memorandum signed in January 2021, President Joe Biden directed all executive branch departments and agencies to implement OPSEC programs, according to Rebecca Morgan, deputy assistant director for insider threat the National Counterintelligence and Security Center.

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The Godfather of literary and movie fame wanted to avoid trafficking in illegal drugs. The reality of organized crime in modern times is much different. Organized crime is the source of nearly unimaginable quantities of illegal drugs. The Justice Department's Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force, established by President Ronald Reagan, late last year marked 40 years of operation. For more details, Federal Drive host Tom Temin talked, in studio, with Adam Cohen, the task force director.

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The Army’s been talking for more than two years about the concept of a “unified network” to simplify its battlefield IT. Now, officials are ready to ask for vendors’ help to make the concept a reality. By this fall, the Army plans to issue a solicitation for a multi-year, multiple award contract to start implementing unified network operations, with an emphasis on a modular, software-intensive architecture.

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Veterans groups keep a close eye on authorization and appropriations for the military. They're please with increases in housing allowances for troops planned for 2023. To discuss this and more, Federal Drive host Tom Temin spoke with the director of the national security division of the American Legion, Mario Marquez.

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