A compromise version of the fiscal 2026 National Defense Authorization Act, released late Sunday, includes several key civilian personnel reforms that could change how the Defense Department hires and manages its civilian workforce.

Most notably, the draft text includes a provision that would allow the Defense Department to promote employees based on skills and qualifications without requiring them to satisfy minimum time-in-grade requirements before being eligible for promotion.

Ron Sanders, a former career human capital leader in government, said the provision is emblematic of the long-running debate to allow DoD to secede from the rest of the federal civil service due to the nature of its mission.

“It is a big deal, and it underscores a bigger issue … You should be able to promote people, regardless of time served, if they can do the job — promote them,” Ron Sanders, a former career human capital leader in government, told Federal News Network. “There have been numerous attempts to carve out more flexibilities for the DoD civilian workforce than the rest of the civil service had.”

“I’m of the mind, and I’m not alone in this, that the federal civil service should be broken up. It should be glued together by a series of standards and principles — there are some cross cutting government-wide principles that should always remain in effect. But DoD has a different mission than the intel community, and it has a different mission than FBI and the law enforcement and other aspects of Homeland Security. Trying to treat all of that as one-size-fits-all is problematic. And I think you’re seeing a continuation of the debate that DoD is different,” he added. 

The time-in-grade requirement is antiquated anyway, Sanders argued, and should be revisited for the rest of the federal civil service.

The bill would also allow the Defense Department to use skill-based assessments to determine whether applicants are qualified for open positions.

“If you sum it all up, DoD would basically have its own civilian personnel system, separate and apart from the rest of the federal civil service. I think we’ve gone to the other extreme, and we’ve been living there for decades now, and that is a one-size-fits-all mentality. What’s good for the SEC is good for DoD, and that’s just not true anymore,” Sanders said. 

In addition, if enacted into law, DoD would be able to share certificates of top candidates for various roles across the department. Certificates would remain valid for at least a year, and they are subject to agency-specific qualification checks.

This particular provision is not new, Sanders said. “If you have the applicant’s permission, sharing certificates, to me, is not a big deal, and it should have been done years and years and years ago, if it hasn’t been.”

Congress is also tightening the department’s ability to make workforce cuts by adding new analysis requirements, reporting mandates and restrictions on conducting reductions-in-force.

If passed, the bill would prohibit DoD from reducing its workforce levels or realigning functions if such changes involve more than 50 employees and occur outside the normal programming process, including ad hoc, immediate or unprogrammed workforce changes. The Defense secretary is also required to notify Congress about planned workforce reductions.

“I think it is part of a larger trend, and that is a growing realization that civilian personnel in DoD are important and they should be managed. If something affects 50 or more employees or some small number like that, that’s micromanaging,” Sanders said. “I don’t think that was in intent on the part of Congress to actually worry about 50 employees. I think it was just a failure to fully comprehend the full scope of the DoD civilian workforce, which is just plain huge.”

Lawmakers are also seeking to centralize and elevate civilian personnel management within each military service by placing it under senior uniformed leaders. If the measure passes, senior leaders who manage military manpower would also oversee the department’s civilian workforce.

“I think at least part of the reasoning is the necessity of having what I would argue are redundant staffs at the military department headquarters and at the major command level. There’s a pendulum here, and it goes back and forth. But at the end of the day, somebody really does need to take a hard look at the staffs that have emerged and decide whether they’re redundant and whether they could be centralized,” Sanders said. 

Cyber workforce

The legislation also expands which positions DoD can hire using special cyber authorities, as well as significantly increases the maximum pay DoD can offer for cyber talent.

Under current law, Cyber Excepted Services hiring authorities apply to U.S. Cyber Command, as well as certain cybersecurity and IT operations roles across the services. The 2026 defense policy bill could expand it to positions held in combatant commands, defense agencies, and field activities supporting CYBERCOM. DoD would also expand Cyber Excepted Services to 500 more cyber roles that don’t neatly fit into existing categories but are still vital and hard-to-fill jobs

The legislation would also give the defense secretary greater pay flexibility for cyber talent, allowing DoD to offer up to 150% of the maximum basic pay authorized for Executive Schedule Level I roles.

“Neither Homeland Security nor DoD has taken full advantage of the authorities that Congress gave them literally decades ago. In DoD case, I think the mandate, and I read this as a mandate, to put more people under CES is generally a good thing. It just again underscores whether DoD should be treated differently or whether you need a separate set of personnel flexibilities for all cyber ninjas at DoD,” Sanders said. 

 

The post Compromise NDAA would let DoD promote civilians faster, increase cyber pay first appeared on Federal News Network.

© Staff Sgt. Tracy Smith

The Trump administration has laid out its President’s Management Agenda, providing a framework for the administration’s overarching priorities to drive change in the federal government for the next few years.

The new PMA, which the Office of Management and Budget published Monday, includes three key priority areas, each of which contain several underlying goals the administration wants to meet, such as eliminating “woke” government, ending “over-classification” and “buying American.”

Many of the goals contained in the management agenda are already taking shape through a number of President Donald Trump’s executive orders and other changes to government the president has initiated since taking office.

“In his first months in office, President Trump already took bold and decisive actions to begin to reshape the federal government and end its weaponization against American citizens,” OMB Deputy Director for Management Eric Ueland wrote Monday in a memo to agencies.

A senior OMB official, speaking on background, said the PMA takes the president’s promises, as well as the administration’s work already underway, and creates a framework to “institutionalize” those end goals.

“Some of the previous PMAs have been all-encompassing and trying to be everything to everybody, whereas this PMA is very clearly tied to what President Trump promised the American people he would do when he got elected,” the official said in an interview with Federal News Network. “These are going to be priorities every agency focuses on for the full Trump administration.”

The Trump administration’s three PMA priorities are:

• Shrink the government and eliminate waste
• Ensure accountability for Americans
• Deliver results, buy American

The PMA has been a staple of presidential administrations for more than 20 years. Generally, each PMA aims to address systemic challenges in government management by setting goals and holding agency executives accountable. It’s a way for the White House to work with agencies to establish top priorities, then monitor progress toward priority-based goals.

Performance.gov, the website that hosts the administration’s PMA, so far contains only an outline of the Trump’s management agenda. Details are missing on which federal leaders will be tasked with delivering on the goals, where there has already been progress, and how the administration will measure results for each priority.

An OMB official blamed the 43-day government shutdown for the limited details on the PMA website. Though confirming that more information would eventually be available, the official did not provide a specific timeline.

“We’ll work with the agencies and identify where they’re already making progress and start putting out — as PMAs in the past have — updates on the success that’s been had, what metrics we’re going to be looking at measuring and what agencies are going to be part of different leads for the individual goals,” the official said.

Shrinking the government

For the Trump administration, the first priority in the PMA focuses on shrinking the government and eliminating waste, particularly in programs that Trump has described as “woke” or “weaponized.”

To meet that end, the PMA’s first priority defines three key goals:

• Eliminate woke, weaponization and waste
• Downsize the federal workforce
• Optimize federal real estate

Already, the Trump administration has taken significant steps toward the overarching goals. Agencies spent much of this year under a hiring freeze, while the administration simultaneously reduced the size of the federal workforce by more than 300,000 employees.

Going forward, the OMB official pointed to Trump’s latest executive order on federal hiring as a way to measure progress toward the PMA’s first priority. The Oct. 15 order called on agencies to form strategic hiring committees composed mainly of political appointees, as well as create staffing plans for the coming year.

“A key part of that will be making sure agencies are putting in place those hiring committees,” the official said. “They’re making very strategic decisions around who they’re hiring and what positions they’re hiring for, so we don’t just inflate the federal government again and overwhelm all the success we’ve had in reductions to date.”

Trump’s first priority area in the PMA is a clear departure from the Biden administration’s agenda, which had centered on strengthening the federal workforce and included efforts to increase federal hiring and workforce development.

On top of reducing the federal workforce, the Trump administration’s first PMA priority additionally focuses on removing programs related to diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility (DEIA), as well as ending a number of federal programs the administration described as “wasteful.”

That goal already began taking shape earlier this year, as the Trump administration directed agencies to end DEIA programs, and remove federal employees who worked on DEIA-related projects. The administration has also sought to shrink certain agencies, including USAID and the Education Department.

As a final piece of its first PMA priority, the administration said it plans to shrink the government’s real estate holdings by offloading “unnecessary” leases and federal buildings, as well as moving agency facilities to more “cost-effective” locations.

Trump has signed a number of executive orders this year focused on making federal architecture “beautiful,” and changing the way agencies prioritize federal building locations, while also requiring all federal employees to work on-site full time.

A focus on accountability

In addition to shrinking government, the administration will also be focused particularly on driving “accountability” as the second PMA priority. The effort will impact federal employees, agency programs and government contractors, according to the agenda’s outline.

The underlying goals for achieving Trump’s second priority area are:

• Foster merit-based federal workforce
• End censorship and over-classification
• Demand partners who deliver

Many of the goals under the second PMA priority are familiar, as the administration has already attempted to reach those ends. For instance, the administration has created a new “Schedule Policy/Career” classification for federal employment, and altered performance management standards for federal employees.

“One benefit of the way that PMA is structured for this administration is it’s going to be easy to integrate this PMA into performance reviews for individual employees across the government and hold them accountable for delivering on the president’s priorities,” the OMB official said.

The Office of Personnel Management in May also issued a “merit hiring plan,” which in part called on agencies to question job applicants on how they will adhere to the president’s priorities.

“A lot of this is following up on executive orders and policy decisions made by the president early on,” the OMB official said. “We’re going to be having agencies strategically hiring [and] they need to do so following the merit hiring plan.”

The second priority area also includes a focus on implementing Trump’s orders related to collective bargaining and labor-management relations at agencies. On top of that, the administration also detailed goals of promoting transparency in the federal government, such as through “find[ing] and annihilat[ing] government censorship of speech.”

Additionally, the second PMA priority includes goals of changing government contracting by working with “the best businesses,” and tasking political appointees, rather than career employees, with leading grant processing work.

“It’s making sure that those receiving federal dollars were chosen based on merit, because they’re going to deliver the outcomes that are expected,” the OMB official said.

Modernize technology, “deliver results”

The third and final priority area in the Trump administration’s PMA focuses on consolidating federal procurement, as well as adopting more modern technology into government services.

The priority contains two key goals:

• Efficiently deploy the buying power of the federal government and buy American
• Leverage technology to deliver faster, more secure services

Attempting to advance technology in government has been a long-standing goal across multiple administrations and throughout many agencies. But the OMB official said for the Trump administration, the goal will be to focus on finding modernization initiatives that can be turned around in shorter timeframes, and “moving out of 10-year, 15-year efforts.”

“We are being more specific in where we’re focused and making sure that we’re tackling projects that we can get done, so that we get the results and the benefits of that,” the official said.

The third priority, once again, mirrors many steps that the administration has already taken, such as attempting to reshape the federal acquisition process.

The priority area also focuses on a familiar throughline from the Trump administration and the Department of Government Efficiency of eliminating “waste.”

Underlying goals in the PMA’s third priority area, for instance, focus on reducing the number of “confusing” government websites. Another focuses on removing “duplicative” data collections and eliminating data siloes.

“Instead of having dozens or hundreds siloed IT systems,” the OMB official said. “We’re going to be able to work off of consolidated IT systems that can operate in an integrated fashion.”

The post Trump’s government management vision centers on elimination, accountability first appeared on Federal News Network.

© AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson

A top human resources official at the State Department, who played a major role in the agency’s widespread reduction in force this summer, is moving on to a new role within the agency.

Lew Olowski, the chief human capital officer for the Bureau of Personnel and Training, is stepping down from that role to become the senior bureau official for the Office of Foreign Missions, two sources familiar with the decision told Federal News Network. The State Department declined to comment.

In this role, Olowski oversaw layoffs of nearly 1,350 State Department employees in July. The department sent reduction-in-force notices to more than 1,100 civil service employees and nearly 250 Foreign Service employees who were based in the United States at the time.

Senior department officials later told Congress that the RIF was the largest and most complex workforce reduction of its kind, and that they carried out the layoffs in consultation with the Office of Personnel Management.

Politico first reported on Olowski’s new role within the State Department.

Most of the employees who received RIF notices this summer officially separated from the agency in September.

The State Department sought to finalize layoffs for nearly 250 Foreign Service officers and several civil service employees last week. But a federal judge in San Francisco temporarily blocked the department from officially separating those employees.

The temporary restraining order signed last Thursday is part of an ongoing lawsuit unions filed on the eve of the government shutdown, which blocked the Trump administration from conducting widespread layoffs during a lapse in congressional funds.

The amended lawsuit states that several agencies, including the State Department, aren’t fully adhering to a provision in the shutdown-ending stopgap funding bill that temporarily blocked the Trump administration from carrying out layoffs.

The nonprofit Democracy Forward, which is also part of the lawsuit, said the amended lawsuit seeks to reverse “other unlawful RIF actions” at the Small Business Administration and the General Services Administration, as well as the departments of Education and Defense.

A recent survey led by the American Foreign Service Association found the State Department’s diplomatic workforce, given sweeping changes happening under the Trump administration, felt overburdened, under-resourced and more likely to leave in the next few years.

In a survey of more than 2,100 active-duty Foreign Service employees, AFSA found that 98% of respondents reported reduced morale this year. About 86% of respondents said workplace changes since January have affected their ability to advance U.S. diplomatic priorities.

Before the Trump administration, about 17,000 active-duty Foreign Service officers worked for the State Department. AFSA estimates that nearly 25% of its workforce left this year — when counting layoffs, retirements and those who accepted deferred resignation offers.

AFSA said in April that it was “deeply concerned” by Olowski’s appointment to the department’s top HR role, which is typically held by career members of the Foreign Service with decades of relevant experience.

“The Foreign Service is a competitive, merit-based institution, built on a foundation of expertise, service, and nonpartisanship. Placing an untenured, entry-level officer who has only served one complete overseas tour into this critical role, even in an acting capacity, not only disregards that tradition but also sends a clear message about the value this administration places on experience and professional progression,” AFSA wrote.

The post State Department HR chief moving on to new role after carrying out layoffs this summer first appeared on Federal News Network.

© AP Photo/Alex Brandon

The U.S. and long-time ally Australia met at the State Department in Washington for the 40th annual Australia-United States Ministerial Consultations.

A "striking" new design for UK trains is revealed for the first time by the transport secretary.

The day after Sir Keir Starmer said he wanted Angela Rayner back in the cabinet, she showed Labour MPs what they've been missing.

 

• There's more discouraging news for the Pentagon’s prospects of obtaining a clean financial audit by the current 2028 deadline. A new evaluation by the Defense Department inspector general found the department’s plan to remediate one of its key, longstanding material weaknesses — an inability to keep track of government property in the possession of contractors — doesn’t appear to be working. DoD intended to fix the problem largely by tracking the contractor-managed property in a software module within the Procurement Integrated Enterprise Environment. But according to the IG, key DoD leaders haven’t mandated the use of that module, and the military services haven’t updated their own systems to properly interface with it.
  (DoD goal for clean 2028 audit in jeapardy - DoD Inspector General)
• Today marks the final day of Open Season. Enrollees in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program have until midnight tonight to make any desired changes to their health insurance options. The open enrollment period also applies to Postal Service employees, as well as those with dental and vision coverage. Any changes made during Open Season will take effect in January.
  (Final day of Open Season - Office of Personnel Management)
• Army Cyber Command has a new leader. Lt. Gen. Christopher Eubank officially assumed command during a ceremony on Dec. 3 at Fort Gordon, Georgia. Eubank took over for Lt. Gen. Maria Barrett, who is retiring after nearly 38 years of service and three years leading Army Cyber Command. Eubank previously served as special assistant to the commander of Army Space and Missile Defense Command. He also led the Army’s Network Enterprise Technology Command. In his new role, Eubank will lead Army cyber operations and provide Army forces to U.S. Cyber Command.
  (Eubank takes the helm of Army Cyber Command - Army.mil)
• The Program Executive Office Command, Control, Communications and Network, or PEO C3N, is undergoing another major reorganization. As part of the Army and Defense Department-wide acquisition reform efforts, the program executive office is changing its name to the "Capability Program Executive Command, Control, Communications and Network,” or CPE C3N. The office is realigning its structure to better support the Army’s Next Generation Command and Control effort. Brig. Gen. Jack Taylor will continue to lead the organization as the capability program executive. As part of the overhaul, the organization is standing up new project offices focused on C2 applications, data and AI, infrastructure and transport.
  (Army to overhaul its PEO C3N - Army.mil)
• An appeals court has ruled in favor of President Donald Trump’s firings of two Democratic board members. The split 2-to-1 decision of the appeals court panel has no immediate effect, since the removals of Cathy Harris at the Merit Systems Protection Board, and Gwynne Wilcox at the National Labor Relations Board, were already finalized. But Friday’s decision comes as the Supreme Court is expected to hear arguments on whether to overturn a 90-year-old ruling known as Humphrey’s Executor. If the decision is overturned, it has the potential to expand the president’s power in shaping independent agencies and may further reinforce the outcomes of Harris' and Wilcox’s terminations.
  (Appeals court backs Trump’s firings of MSPB, NLRB members - Federal News Network)
• Palo Alto Networks is joining the ever-growing list of vendors signing up for GSA's OneGov program. The cybersecurity company will now offer agencies up to a 60% discount from its schedule prices for three of its cyber tools. Agencies can now buy Palo Alto's software next generation firewall, its secure access service edge (SASE) solution and its code to cloud platform for deep discounts through January 2028. This is GSA's fifteenth OneGov agreement since it launched the program in April. Last week, GSA also signed a similar deeply discounted deal with SAP.
  (Palo Alto Networks joins GSA's OneGov program - General Services Administration)
• Small businesses in the 8(a) program will now have a busy holiday season. The Small Business Administration is asking participants in the 8(a) contracting program for a trove of data as part of the agency's ongoing audit of the long-standing socioeconomic initiative. In a letter sent to more than 4,300 8(a) firms, SBA set a deadline of Jan. 5, 2026, for these companies to deliver 13 data sets. These include everything from a copy of the all 8(a) contracts for the last three fiscal years to full financial statements to their full general ledger. SBA said firms that fail to meet the deadline may lose their eligibility to participate in the 8(a) program and could face further investigative or remedial actions.
  (SBA moves to next phase of 8(a) program investigation - Small Business Administration )
• A top human resources official at the State Department who played a major role in the agency’s widespread reduction in force this summer is moving on to a new role. Lew Olowski, the chief human capital officer in the Bureau of Personnel and Training, is stepping down from that role to become the senior bureau official for the Office of Foreign Missions, according to two sources. The State Department declined to provide an on-the-record comment.
  (Lew Olowski, the chief human capital officer in the Bureau of Personnel and Training, is stepping down - State Department)

The post DoD goal for clean 2028 audit in jeopardy, IG finds first appeared on Federal News Network.

© Getty Images/Westy72

If 2025 felt like a whirlwind for regulatory compliance, you’re not imagining it. Between the finalization of Cybersecurity Model Maturity Certification 2.0 rules, the launch of FedRAMP’s 20x initiative promising faster authorizations, and new AI governance requirements from the Office of Management and Budget and the National Institute of Standards and Technology, organizations working with federal agencies faced enormous regulatory change.

As we head into 2026, the tempo isn’t slowing. The Defense Department is phasing CMMC into contracts to protect the defense industrial base. FedRAMP continues evolving as more agencies migrate critical systems to the cloud. And AI regulations are moving from principles to prescriptive requirements as governments grapple with the risks and opportunities of deploying AI at scale.

After leading hundreds of companies through compliance journeys and assessments — and going through them ourselves — we’ve learned that while each framework has nuances, three universal lessons apply.

Three lessons that apply to each framework

1) These frameworks are not like the ones you already know.

The biggest mistake? Treating CMMC like SOC 2 or assuming FedRAMP is “ISO 27001 for government.”

For example, CMMC Level 2 requires implementing all 110 NIST 800-171 requirements and 320 assessment objectives. Your system security plan alone could reach 200 pages. Budget more time, resources and specialized expertise than you think you need.

2) Scoping is a critical first step that organizations often get wrong.

Determining what’s in scope is one of the hardest and most important steps. I’ve seen companies believe 80% of infrastructure was in scope for CMMC, only to learn it was closer to 30%. Be ruthless about where controlled unclassified information actually lives. Every system you include can add months of work and tens of thousands in costs.

For FedRAMP, define your authorization boundary early. For AI governance, inventory every AI system, including embedded features in SaaS tools. Invest in scoping before implementing controls.

3) Automation is mission-critical, not optional.

Manual processes don’t scale when juggling multiple frameworks, and they leave you vulnerable to errors and inefficiencies. That’s why FedRAMP 20x and other frameworks today are evolving to put automation at the center of the process. Organizations that want continuous improvement must treat automation as core infrastructure, especially for monitoring controls, collecting evidence and surfacing real-time compliance data.

The real cost of playing catch-Up

Companies treating compliance as a last-minute sprint face hundreds of thousands of dollars in average costs for CMMC Level 2 alone. They scramble, rush documentation and often fail their first assessment — and non-compliance can come at a hefty price.

Organizations that delay addressing compliance gaps are vulnerable to security risks. IBM’s 2025 Cost of a Data Breach Report showed that noncompliance with regulations increases the average cost of a breach by nearly $174,000.

Regulatory actions are rising too. The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights issued 19 settlements and over $8 million in fines for HIPAA violations this year to date, already the highest on record for a single year.

Organizations that start early spend less and use compliance as a competitive advantage. When you’re behind, compliance is a burden; when you’re ahead, it’s a differentiator.

What you need to know right now

For CMMC 2.0

If you’re a prime contractor, subcontractor handling CUI, or external service provider in the DoD supply chain, start now.

Identify what type of information you handle, what certification level you need, and define your scope. Build your system security plan early and categorize assets as CUI, security-protected, contract-risk managed or out of scope.

When selecting a C3PAO assessor, look for transparent pricing, strong references and clear data-handling processes. You can achieve conditional certification with a plan of action and milestones, but you have only 180 days to remediate and must score at least 80% in SPRS.

For FedRAMP 20x

Keep in mind that FedRAMP isn’t a one-time audit. The true 20x objective is not just to speed up authorizations, but to achieve smarter and stronger security — and this requires preparation.

These steps are non-negotiable:

• Build continuous monitoring infrastructure and processes from day one.
• Ensure your authorization boundary is correct and your architecture documentation is precise. Ambiguity causes delays that stretch timelines beyond a year.
• Automate evidence collection and continuous monitoring for monthly deliverables required to maintain authorization.

For AI governance

Federal AI regulations are quickly moving from principles to requirements. Establish AI governance councils now. Inventory AI systems comprehensively, document training data provenance, implement bias testing protocols and create transparency mechanisms.

As OMB and NIST frameworks take hold, AI governance will become a standard procurement requirement through 2026.

Five steps to start today

1) Start with an honest gap assessment.

Most companies are further behind than they think, particularly on incident response and supply chain risk management. Know your baseline before building your roadmap.

2) Treat documentation like code.

Your system security plan, policies and authorization package shouldn’t be static Word documents. Your documentation needs to be a living architecture that is version-controlled, regularly updated and, ideally, machine readable.

3) Build compliance into procurement.

Create vendor risk assessment processes that evaluate CMMC readiness, FedRAMP authorization status and AI governance practices before signing contracts. For CMMC, ensure vendors provide Customer Responsibility Matrices documenting which NIST 800-171 controls they are responsible for.

4) Invest in your people.

Build exceptional compliance programs by upskilling existing staff. Send operations teams to CMMC training. Have developers learn secure coding for FedRAMP environments. Create AI literacy programs. Make compliance competency a core skill.

5) Prepare for continuous monitoring.

CMMC includes provisions for ongoing assessments and affirmations of compliance. FedRAMP requires continuous monitoring. AI governance demands continuous bias testing. Invest in automation systems and tools like trust centers that are able to demonstrate your up-to-date security and compliance posture any day of the year.

The opportunity in the complexity

Despite the challenges, companies getting compliance right are winning work they couldn’t before. Defense contractors and small businesses can use CMMC certification to compete for prime contracts. Cloud service providers who achieve FedRAMP authorization can significantly accelerate their federal sales cycles, cutting months from procurement timelines. AI startups land pilots by demonstrating responsible AI practices.

The companies that thrive treat compliance as something they control, not something that happens to them. They build security-first cultures, invest in the right tools and training, and transform compliance from cost center to competitive advantage.

The best time to start was yesterday. The second-best time is today, because 2026 promises even more compliance complexity, and it’s coming faster than you think.

Shrav Mehta is the founder and CEO of Secureframe.

The post Getting ahead of CMMC, FedRAMP and AI Compliance before it gets ahead of you first appeared on Federal News Network.

© Federal News Network

Patients with a previously untreatable form of blood cancer are now living disease-free after a world-first gene therapy.

The head of the Royal Navy has warned the government to "step up" and fund defence or risk losing the UK's superiority in the Atlantic to Russia.

Interview transcript

Terry Gerton Well, as we speak, the shutdown is at least temporarily over, but it left some major disruptions in its wake and one of those programs that we want to talk about today is the National Flood Insurance Program. Can I ask you first to tell us what that program is, but then also talk about how the shutdown and the extension of the shutdown affected that program?

Nicole Upano Sure. The National Flood Insurance Program is an important program for single-family home buyers as well as multifamily owners and operators. It is a backstop to ensure that borrowers have flood insurance even in areas where there is elevated risk, and private insurance companies may be less likely to offer coverage in that area without having some sort of elevated cost because of their risk. So it’s a very important program for many Americans.

Terry Gerton  And it really provides a a stability in markets that are flood prone, right?

Nicole Upano That’s exactly right, Terry. It is an important program for many Americans. It provides stability in the market if there is a national disaster to ensure that money flows back into that community for rehabilitation and repair.

Terry Gerton And during the shutdown, NFIP’s borrowing authority dropped dramatically. What does that mean in terms of practical terms?

Nicole Upano That means that, as I had mentioned previously, this program is an important — or, flood insurance is an important part of home sales and multifamily sales. And without that borrowing authority, those purchases could not move forward since it is a contingency to home buying. And there also is that greater risk that if a natural disaster could occur, that there wouldn’t be an ability to fill those claims and push financing back into those communities.

Terry Gerton So the way that works then is in a disaster FEMA actually uses that borrowing authority to pay out the claims that it may receive. Is that correct? That’s right. So then how did the lapse in the NFIP operations affect home buyers who rely on that flood insurance to maybe close on a mortgage?

Nicole Upano We have certainly seen this across the federal government for many HUD-assisted or agency-assisted programs, that it put a pause in those home sales until the government is back up and running and doing the people’s business.

Terry Gerton So we’re in a continuing resolution now. Did the CR provide additional borrowing authority for FEMA through the National Flood Insurance Program?

Nicole Upano Yes, it sure did. It reauthorized it since September 30. And there is a piece of bipartisan legislation that was also offered that would reauthorize the program until 2026 to provide even greater certainty for homebuyers and and renters across the country.

Terry Gerton Does that mean that folks who were kind of in limbo for the last 40+ days of the shutdown can renew their policies or maybe submit their claims? Does that open the window back up? Yes, it certainly does.

Terry Gerton I’m speaking with Nicole Upano. She’s the AVP for housing policy and regulatory affairs for the National Apartment Association. So, Nicole, let’s go back to this, the program itself, even with existing policies still active, there were some limits. What do policy holders need to know about their coverage, their claims, and their change in funding if we should find ourselves in another funding lapse, perhaps?

Nicole Upano Sure. So if someone had a valid policy during the shutdown, those remained valid throughout the shutdown. But if in terms of a new policy or a renewal, that’s where the rub would be, as well as potentially processing any claims, there would be limitations on that.

Terry Gerton Did you see any misconceptions or misunderstandings on the part of policy owners about what services and coverage would be available to them during the shutdown?

Nicole Upano NAA represents professionally-owned and managed housing across the country. And so they kept the shutdown and any implications very much top of mind and continue to use NAA as a resource to get the most up to date information.

Terry Gerton And so you’re dealing with apartment owners, condo owners, those kinds of things. What are some of their biggest questions when it comes to the NFIT program?

Nicole Upano Well, for our members, they are looking across the federal government at all the implications. For example, HUD and FHA, they provide financing and backing not just for affordable housing but for market rate housing as well. So there was an issue with those closings. And while Section 8 and USDA rural housing — you know, rural housing benefits for renters and their families in rural areas — while those benefits did benefit from an advanced appropriation, there was that similar issue, similar to the NFIP, that renewals and new applications could not be processed and there would have been payment uncertainty for those renters and their families. And so having government back up and running and doing the people’s business is important to both housing providers and renters to ensure the stability of those properties and that renters in those communities remain stable.

Terry Gerton NAA is obviously very sensitive to the real estate market, especially in flood prone or disaster prone areas. Beyond NFIP itself, what does this moment really reveal about the fragility of our disaster response programs and how people can get relief if they’re affected?

Nicole Upano Sure, that’s a great question. Many of the federal government’s housing programs are not mandatory appropriations. And we’ve seen that with other industries, that they are seeking now opportunities to have a backstop if and when this happens again to ensure that agencies can access reserves or that they can expand their budget authority in these times, knowing that eventually the government will be back up and running. And folks will be repaid

Terry Gerton How should policymakers then or legislators be thinking about long-term resilience and continuity for programs like NFIP, especially as climate risks grow and shutdowns maybe remain a threat?

Nicole Upano We would certainly encourage policymakers to reevaluate whether some of these programs should have a mandatory appropriation so there won’t be disruptions. We never know what’s going to happen, certainly with climate risks and change across the country, and so having that certainty is critical.

Terry Gerton So what is NAA’s message then to housing providers and renters on navigating these kinds of disruptions? What do they do to stay informed? How do they make sure that they’re current? What’s your advice?

Nicole Upano Yeah, so NAA continued to release live updates on our website to our members. We continue to encourage our members to work with their residents as their business allows and provided them with resources and how to navigate those conversations. We were pleased to see that the the CR does include a reversal of the rifts that happened during the shutdown. And especially for folks in the DMV, this is extremely helpful to ensure there’s certainty for those residents and that housing providers can know they have a stop gap at the end of the day.

Terry Gerton And what are you hearing from lawmakers? Are they inclined to support those kinds of proposals?

Nicole Upano Yeah, as you can see from the bipartisan legislation to reauthorize the program in 2026, this program has long had bipartisan support. We just want to use this time to encourage policymakers to take that next step.

The post The federal flood insurance program is key to stable housing markets, the shutdown revealed its fragility first appeared on Federal News Network.

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Interview transcript

Terry Gerton John, I wanna start with you. You’ve been with the shared services concept for a long time. You’ve seen Trump 1 and Trump 2. Tell us how their approach differs across the different administrations.

John Marshall Well, thanks, Terry. It’s a great question. We’re not really sure what the approach is for the current administration yet because they haven’t released a president’s management agenda, but we can get some signs from what we’ve seen out there and kind of reading the tea leaves a bit. But the first Trump administration had a very clear plan. It was announced in OMB Management Memorandum M-19-16 and included an innovative approach to creating a marketplace of shared services providers through four quality service management offices, or QSMOs, that were set up to manage financial management, human resources, cybersecurity, and grants marketplaces. Those were allowed to continue through the Biden administration. They weren’t really expanded or empowered very strongly or resourced, but they still have existed. But we haven’t seen the Trump administration, the second Trump administration, endorse or expand them. They seem to be continuing the financial management and grants. We’re not sure about cybersecurity and HR. So, a lot is yet to be seen. What we have seen from the new, the second Trump administration is a strong focus on centralization and consolidation of common services. They don’t seem to include some of the key features of shared services that we’d like to see, but they’re heading in a positive direction and we like most of what we’ve seen so far.

Terry Gerton Well Steve, let me turn that to you then because in addition to what John’s talking about the centralization approach, the Trump 2 administration has issued executive orders around acquisition, HR and financial management. Are you seeing that approach get traction in any particular way?

Steve Goodrich They are a little bit. As you know, GSA is also revamping the FAR and actually to include shared services within Section 8 of the new FAR when it’s issued. GSA is focused on procurement, OPM is focused on HR, Treasury is focused on finance. They all are starting to make traction in a centralization model, and they’re at at different levels or different stages right now. But they’re certainly getting there. OPM has their RFP out to try to develop a centralized approach for government-wide HR support services. GSA is pulling procurement into GSA more and more. And Treasury is at its beginning stages working with its QSMO actually to develop and make sure they have the systems and the foundation before they can start operations down the road.

Terry Gerton So John, in Trump 1 you made the point that there was a lot of it space for initiative and choice in the marketplace. Centralization seems to be pulling that back. Are you seeing agencies respond in a positive way?

John Marshall I don’t think we have really a lot of great feedback coming from the agencies yet. They haven’t been very communicative about their adoption or their plans for centralization to shared services. So a lot has yet to be seen. We’re kind of reading between the tea leaves right now and trying to determine how things are gonna sort out and what the agency responses will be.

Terry Gerton In market theory, markets will be more efficient than a centralization model. What do what do you have as an expectation here?

John Marshall Well, we have a lot of reasons to prefer a market-based approach because of competition, and particularly a marketplace would allow industry service providers to participate and compete with government service providers. We’re a little uncomfortable with the idea of just consolidating everything in centralized, government-delivered, government-operated functions because they tend to — over time they become monopolies and pretty bureaucratic. And so we like the idea of having a more open marketplace where competition can drive continuous innovation and customer choice and let the marketplace then sort out the winners and losers.

Terry Gerton I’m speaking with John Marshall. He’s the founder and CEO of the Shared Services Leadership Coalition. And Steve Goodrich, [who] chairs the SSLC board. So Steve, let me come back to you then. Shared Services Leadership Coalition has proposed a more competitive standard-based model. Tell us about that and how your proposal differs from what you’re seeing the administration currently implement.

Steve Goodrich Well, the administration is trying to move fairly quickly right now and with technology solutions, frankly, before they get processing governance and policy and data reform in place. So they’re moving out fast. The centralization model, as John says, may not be the optimal model to get there. What we’re proposing is a strong mandate for shared services. Because as you know, it’s come and gone from over the last forty years from administration to administration. And to get there, we need Congress really to mandate it so we can consolidate the common services across government to get there. Two, we need a strong governance structure to be able to operate, lead this across agencies and get the right mandates and security and systems and so forth and so on. Within that, we then need to do the right analysis and design of the right approach to make sure we’re consolidating appropriately, that we’re getting the duplication of systems and processes down and we can actually measure the outcomes that we’re getting to make it happen and then have an effective transition process.

Terry Gerton Tell me about your governance model. Who would be in charge of oversight there?

Steve Goodrich Well, our proposed model we have the OMB DDM as the policy director, if you will, for this and the authority. We have GSA leading the operations through a management center. And then there’s roles for the PMC, there is roles for the agencies advisory going through this as well. And you have the operating centers to make sure this is done and done right.

Terry Gerton Are you hearing from any of those agencies that they’re interested in taking on that governance role?

Steve Goodrich There’s — GSA would have interest in getting there. As you know, OSP, which has been drawn back over the years, was the original design, as the M-19-16 says, is the coordinating element. But our proposed legislation would actually give it the authority it needs, led by a commissioner within GSA for government operations with which to get there.

Terry Gerton So John, let me come back to you because you mentioned something in your last response that I think ties in with this governance piece. When you get a government centralized service function, it tends to become a monopoly, but it’s also really hard to invest in technology modernization. How would you see this centralization model staying current and actually addressing the service concerns of the federal agency constituents?

John Marshall That is a great question. And I think that the flip side of that question sets up the response that we would like to see, which is the marketplace, because if you had a marketplace with industry and government service providers, you would have continuous competition across the service providers and customer choice, which would — which should provide the incentives to drive innovation in the marketplace by all those providers. So it’s a really important feature that we think ought to be incorporated. And we’re concerned that government centralized services haven’t had access to appropriations or technology modernization funds for modernization. So we’re concerned that they would follow the example that we’ve seen too often of centralized service providers not modernizing, not keeping up and becoming non-responsive and antiquated over time.

Terry Gerton Steve, you want to follow up?

Steve Goodrich Yeah, I would. You can look at good models like Canada, Texas has done a pretty good job of developing partnerships with industry. And so that moves away from the traditional FAR firm-fixed price contract approach, where as technology advances, as process or new policies advance, the companies involved, the partnership involved are responsible for the implementation and bringing those two new technologies to the forefront without contract change orders and things like that, it’s built into the process.

Terry Gerton So Steve, as you look forward, what sorts of policy or legislative change is SSLC recommending?

Steve Goodrich So, it really tees off what I was saying before, putting a piece of legislation in place that mandates shared services, that sets up the governance structure, that ensures that there is metrics, both performance and outcome metrics that are measured and reported back to Congress and the President that involves the PMC in this process and builds the strong demonstrated consolidation of common services across government to save money, to improve data, to reduce duplication, to get us there finally with a modernized system of policy, process and data.

Terry Gerton So John, I wanna wrap up with you. Legislative change is sometimes an interesting windmill to tilt at, but in the absence of that change, if the administration continues with its policy of centralization, what should agencies and industry partners be doing to prepare for that?

John Marshall Watching and seeing what comes out from the administration and and following suit. But we we’d like to see more interest in Congress and it’s hard to get legislation passed in this area. We’ve been trying at this for 10 years. We’ve seen the history of legislation, the CFO Act, GPRA and so many other landmark pieces of management legislation. They take a long time and the incubation period is a long time. So we’d like to see industry working with us and agencies showing support for a more fundamental transformational approach like we’re offering. And don’t forget, Terry, what we’re proposing is a mainstream business model that’s used by 80 or 90 percent of Fortune 500 companies for managing common services. And the potential savings are tremendous. We’ve estimated $75 to $100 billion dollars in potential savings. So that’s really what’s on the table for the value, not just improved services for employees and for customers of the government and taxpayers. This is a great opportunity that the government shouldn’t miss.

Terry Gerton Steve, let me give you the last word.

Steve Goodrich Yeah, John and I like to joke sometimes that — and it’s true, it’s not a joke — for over 40 years we’ve been sitting in meetings around shared services with OMB and oversight agencies, and it ebbs and flows from administration to administration, or they just dance around the edges. A bill passed and signed by the president will finally give it the energy and resources it needs to move it forward.

The post Centralization is back in vogue, but is it the right model for government shared services? first appeared on Federal News Network.

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Arne Slot has said he has "no clue" whether Mohamed Salah has played his last game for Liverpool.

The Israeli government has been accused of intimidation, harassment and a "blatant disregard" of its obligations by the United Nations after Israeli officials raided a UN building in Jerusalem.