The Federal Drive with Terry Gerton

Dr. Jeff Waxman, the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Installations, Energy, and Environment, dives into the Army's innovative plans to use small nuclear microreactors for critical infrastructure. He highlights how these reactors provide continuous power for harsh environments. Discussion includes cost-effectiveness challenges, the Army's efforts to shape the commercial nuclear supply chain, and the ambitious prototype testing at nine bases. Waxman also aims to attract talent to nuclear technology, hoping to ignite interest similar to the SpaceX era.

Jason Miller, Executive Editor at Federal News Network and expert on federal HR and IT modernization, discusses the Office of Personnel Management's effort to revamp the USA Hire platform. He explains how this modernization aims to enhance candidate assessment tools for hiring managers. Key topics include the introduction of unproctored tests, video interviews, and AI use, as well as industry reactions and concerns. Miller also highlights the role of USA Hire in centralizing innovations in skills-based hiring and improving the overall applicant experience.

Jason Miller, executive editor at Federal News Network, dives into OPM's plans to modernize USA Hire, discussing vendor feedback and the potential impact on merit-based hiring. Joanna Makowska from the Animal Welfare Institute reveals a concerning drop in USDA fines post-Supreme Court decision, highlighting enforcement challenges in laboratories. Ryan Triplett of the Coalition for Fair Software Licensing examines the complexities of GSA OneGov’s enterprise agreements and the need for improved software asset visibility to ensure savings.

Ben Harris, Executive Director of the National Armaments Consortium, and Joe Buzzett, Executive Committee Chair with extensive industry experience, dive into the future of armaments innovation. They discuss the consortium's efforts to enhance supply chain resilience and the urgency surrounding ammunition production amid global conflicts like Ukraine. The guests highlight the importance of rapid prototyping and recent policy changes to accelerate project timelines. With five new industry veterans onboard, NAC is set to tackle challenges and focus on emerging technologies for 2026 and beyond.

Ashley Ridgway, a policy advisor and staff attorney at the Animal Welfare Institute, dives into the dramatic drop in Animal Welfare Act fines following the Supreme Court's SEC v. Jarkesy decision. She reveals that fines plummeted from 63 to just 5 in 14 months, raising concerns about enforcement effectiveness. Ridgway and her colleague Joanna Makowska discuss the implications for animal protection, including inspection challenges and legislative efforts to strengthen the Act. They also explore the ongoing use of animals in labs and the limitations of non-animal methods.

A government watchdog is sounding the alarm about a growing national security threat, one that comes from the everyday digital traces service members and their families leave online. A new Government Accountability Office report warns that publicly accessible data from social media posts and location tracking to routine Defense Department press releases can be pieced together by bad actors to identify military personnel and disrupt military operations. GAO says the Pentagon has taken some steps to address the threat, but its efforts remain scattered and lack coordination. For more, Federal News Network's Anastasia Obis spoke with Joe Kirschbaum, director of the defense capabilities and management team at GAO.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A federal union is suing the Bureau of Prisons over the recent cancelation of its collective bargaining agreement. The lawsuit comes after BOP ended its contract in September, arguing that the union had become an "obstacle to progress." The American Federation of Government Employees is now alleging that the agency's decision violated the law. Here with more, Federal News Network's Drew Friedman.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today on the Federal Drive with Terry Gerton What if we stopped fixing government at the margins and redesigned it from scratch? Two big opportunities are on the horizon for veterans, one to land a job, another to launch a business When paychecks stop and tax season looms, what moves should federal employees make?See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The group Disabled American Veterans is stepping up with a nationwide virtual job fair on November 25 and its next Patriot Boot Camp for veteran entrepreneurs in February 2026. These initiatives aim to help veterans and military families find meaningful work and build thriving businesses. Here with more on these two programs is Dan Clare, DAV’s Chief Communications & Outreach Officer.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Imagine entering the Carousel of Progress at Disney World, but instead of showing you the possibilities of life in the future, it showed you what a government of the future may look like. That's the aim of The Future State Initiative. In collaboration with the Federation of American Scientists, it conducted an exercise imagining what the U.S. government should look like in 2050. Federal News Network's Eric White spoke with Loren DeJonge Schulman, Senior Advisor for Government Capacity at the Federation of American Scientists.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.