Category: Congress

That new federal regulatory agenda has generated opposition

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The Biden administration recently declared a new approach to federal regulation it said would modernize and streamline it. The new framework has drawn opposition from business. For one point of view,  Federal Drive with Tom Temin spoke with Chad Whiteman, the vice president of Environment and Regulatory Affairs at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Interview transcript: Tom Temin Now, this does a lot of things, including electronic handling of bots and this kind of thing, which probably are useful updates. But I’m guessing, the big change that has industry worried…

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Lawmakers closing ranks on a bipartisan bill to fix VA’s troubled EHR rollout

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House and Senate lawmakers from both parties agree the Department of Veterans Affairs’ rollout of a new Electronic Health Record is falling short of expectations. Top Democrats and Republicans on the House and Senate VA committees introduced several EHR reform bills over the past few months. But with the VA back at the bargaining table with Oracle-Cerner, seeking a tougher contract, lawmakers are starting to close ranks on which bill has the best chance of making it through Congress. House VA Committee Ranking Member Mark Takano (D-Calif.) said he’s working…

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Fort Rucker sheds its Confederate moniker with a name change

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Another Army installation named for a Confederate general got a name change Monday. Alabama’s Fort Rucker, known as the home of Army aviation, will now be called Fort Novosel. Chief Warrant Officer 4 Michael Novosel was awarded a Medal of Honor for flying a medical evacuation under fire during the Vietnam War. The fort previously carried the name of Confederate General Edmond Rucker, who worked in the railroad business, after the Civil War, with Nathan Bedford Forrest, the first Grand Wizard of the KKK. Fort Novosel is the second in…

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Admiral Steven Poulin: Vice Commandant, U.S. Coast Guard

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Lots of nation’s impinge on the Arctic Circle. Even more try to use it strategically, like China. That’s why, for years, the U.S. Coast Guard has been stepping up its patrols in the Arctic and why it convinced Congress to fund two new heavy ice-breaking ships. At the recent Sea Air Space conference, the Federal Drive with Tom Temin Federal Drive got an exclusive update from Coast Guard Vice Commandant, Admiral Steve Poulin. Interview transcript: Steve Poulin Dynamic changes in the Arctic, it’s a growing area of strategic competition. And if we want…

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Who should staff the arsenal of democracy, feds or contractors?

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The war between Russia and Ukraine has provoked a debate here in the U.S. Who should rebuild the Defense Department supplies shipments to Ukraine have drawn down? Specifically, should it be expanded contracting with industry or a buildup of what’s known as the government’s organic industrial base? Or should the government enlist industry to make up the shortfall? The question in some ways forms a proxy for wider questions of who should do what. On the specific weapons question, though, DoD in reality is working on a variety of ways…

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Does the military need a separate service for cyber? Some lawmakers think so; DoD isn’t sure

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It’s been a little over three years since Congress created a dedicated military service to focus on space. Lawmakers are wondering whether it’s time to do the same thing for cyber. The Defense Department hasn’t yet taken a position on that question — officials say they’re still studying the topic of military cyber force design. But some members of Congress are getting impatient. Lawmakers have asked DoD for its recommendations on whether there ought to be a separate military services just for cyber forces more than once. In the 2020…

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