Congress is wrestling with the big questions, but it’s the details that are slowing everything down. That tension between ambition and execution shows up across the agenda and it’s shaping what happens next. Here to bring us to speed on the details is WTOP's capitol hill correspondent, Mitchell Miller.

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Coming up today on the Federal Drive with Terry Gerton

• A tied vote, a stalled reconciliation package and big questions about how laws actually get finished
• Reorganization plans can look clean on paper and turn out far messier in real life
• The IRS’s service picture may be improving, but taxpayers are still running into real friction

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The growth of shared services for grants across government has climbed steadily over the last five years. Through the Grants Quality Service Management Office, 29 agencies are using standardized technology services to help award more than $1.2 trillion a year. With more on how the Grants QSMO plans to further drive standardization into grants management, Federal News Network’s executive editor Jason Miller joins me now.

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Agriculture Department employees are suing Secretary Brooke Rollins over what they are calling “coercive” religious messaging. The lawsuit comes in response to an Easter message that Rollins sent to 100,000 department employees. Plaintiffs say her email implies an “in-group” religion at USDA and that those who don’t agree may face “negative consequences.” Here with more, Federal News Network’s Drew Friedman.

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Coming up today on "The Federal Drive with Terry Gerton"

• Environmental change can turn rare risks into immediate problems and the Army Corps of Engineers is stepping in to manage the consequences
• “Testing new technology is one thing, making it work in the field and getting people to trust and use it is another
• Some of the most important environmental policy work doesn’t happen in legislation it shows up in how agencies act, spend and measure results

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Shaping environmental outcomes isn’t limited to writing legislation. In many cases, it comes down to knowing how federal decisions actually get made, through regulation, procurement, data and funding choices that shape behavior across the system. That’s the approach being taught to climate professionals by Mai Sistla, Senior Climate Policy Advisor at the Aspen Policy Academy.

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Glacier‑related flooding is becoming more frequent and more dangerous in parts of the country, prompting the Corps to step in with targeted mitigation efforts. We hear how that work is unfolding on the ground, from Mike Records and Daryl Downing with the Army Corps of Engineers on site in Alaska.

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Testing new technology is one thing. Making it work in real conditions and earning trust is another. USDA’s new National Proving Grounds Network is designed to close that gap, testing emerging agriculture technologies on working farms and ranches so they can move from idea to adoption. Here to explain how that model is taking shape is Under Secretary for Research, Education and Economics and Chief Scientist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Scott Hutchins.

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The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s grant processes are about to get a little more transparent. That’s because a new law requires FEMA to publish a dashboard of public assistance claims stemming from federal disasters. That requirement comes as the administration and Congress consider broader reforms to FEMA. For more, Federal News Network’s Justin Doubleday joins me. 

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The Defense Department is proposing a sweeping rule that would significantly expand the government’s scrutiny of foreign ownership and influence across the defense industrial base, requiring tens of thousands of uncleared contractors to comply with security requirements historically applied only to companies handling classified information. For more, Federal News Network’s Anastasia Obis spoke with Scott Freling, co-chair of Covington’s Government Contracts practice, and Heather Finstuen, partner at Covington & Burling.

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