The Federal Drive with Terry Gerton

Since January, the Trump administration has moved aggressively to cut the size of the federal workforce. After months of changes and constant fear of potential job loss as layoffs loom, many federal workers found themselves struggling with high levels of anxiety or seeking therapy and medication for the first time in their lives. Some experienced chronic insomnia, depression, aggressive outbursts, isolation and even self harming thoughts Federal News Networks Anastasia Obis is here to break down new findings from an exclusive Federal News Network survey on mental health impacts.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A new directive from the Office of Management and Budget is pushing federal agencies to consolidate how they buy goods and services, aiming to streamline procurement, reduce duplication, and improve efficiency. But this shift raises important questions about agency autonomy, innovation, and the role of small businesses in federal contracting. Here to unpack the implications is Emily Murphy, former Administrator of the General Services Administration.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Anyone who pays attention to cloud computing in the federal community knows the term FedRAMP, but more than a decade after the program's establishment, it's becoming something new and hopefully a lot more streamlined. Part of that is the FedRAMP 20x Phase One pilot. The program management office is moving to a more elective or discretionary style of security verification rather than a prescriptive one. Pete Waterman is director of FedRAMP at the General Services Administration. He talked with Federal News Network's Jason Miller as part of our annual cloud exchange.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

If nothing changes, social security benefits will start to decline by 2034. Math is math...and there simply are more people are drawing social security benefits than there are people paying in to the program. There is a lot of talk about how to solve the problem, but so far, not much action. Here with ideas about what might work is the director of the Retirement Security Project and senior fellow in Economic Studies at the Brookings Institution, Dr. Gopi Shah Goda.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 How the DOGE-driven reductions at the Social Security Agency are playing out now The numbers on the shortfall in the social security program are more clear than ever...what's not clear is when and how Congress will fix it The House is out, but the Senate is in, with big questions on nominees ahead See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The House may be out, but the Senate returns this week with a lot still up in the air. Appropriations are moving slowly—just two bills have cleared the House, and only one is pending in the Senate. A continuing resolution looks likely, and talk of a shutdown is already starting. Meanwhile, redistricting is back in the spotlight. WTOP’s Mitchell Miller joins us to break down what’s ahead.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Between the largest force reduction in its history and major workforce realignments, the Social Security Agency has been struggling to deliver basic services. New technology is supposed to fill the service gaps, but most of the experts needed to develop and deploy those tools have left the agency. Here with more details on the impacts of these staffing reductions is the Director of Social Security and Disability Policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Kathleen Romig.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Trump administration has been overhauling the civil service in multiple ways. They're attempting to close the door to more political appointees, while also making it easier to remove career federal employees from their jobs. But those workforce changes don't appear to resonate positively with many Americans, including those who support the administration's cuts more broadly. Here with a closer look at some new survey data is 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.

The Agriculture Department is moving ahead with its reorganization plans. This includes relocating most DC area staff to regional hubs around the country. USDA says the relocation will bring employees closer to the communities they serve and will move them to places with lower locality pay. Federal News networks. Jory Heckman has been following the story and is here with more.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Heat is the leading weather-related cause of death in the United States. A team from the National Weather Service spent more than a decade, mostly on their own time, to develop a tool that could link weather data about heat with heat-related injury data to predict heat risk. When that tool went nation-wide, it transformed emergency management, public health, and education. It also earned this team a 2025 Service to America Medal. Here to tell us more about this life-saving technology are Michael Staudenmaier, Chad Kahler, and Mark Loeffelbein of the National Weather Service.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.