The Federal Drive with Terry Gerton

Agencies will soon get leeway to promote federal employees more quickly. That’s after the Office of Personnel Management published a final rule eliminating a longstanding “time in grade” requirement. Starting in January, employees will no longer have to serve in their current paygrade for a year before becoming eligible for a promotion. Federal News Network’s Drew Friedman discussed the changes in an exclusive interview with OPM Director Scott Kupor. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers is pressing the Pentagon to explain how it will obtain cost and pricing data from defense contractors, including for contracts below a $10 million threshold. The lawmakers say recent changes could limit the department’s ability to negotiate fair prices. Federal News Network’s Anastasia Obis has more. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

For many federal employees, the biggest retirement decision isn't when to retire. It's what to do with the money they've accumulated in the Thrift Savings Plan. To walk through the tradeoffs between staying in the TSP and moving to an IRA, I'm joined by certified financial planner Thiago Glieger of RMG Advisors. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A court has temporarily stopped efforts to close the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center. For Congressman Glenn Ivey, the dispute raises broader questions about congressional priorities, agency actions, and preserving the expertise government depends on to carry out its mission. He joins me now. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Many contractors assume cybersecurity enforcement begins after sensitive information is compromised. A recent settlement suggests the government may be focused just as much on whether contractors accurately represent their compliance in the first place. Here to explain what that means is Michael Volkov, CEO of The Volkov Law Group. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.