The Daily Scoop Podcast

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an independent federal government agency primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. As such, the ability to leverage cloud services has played a pivotal role in helping USAID support several key mission objectives, including efforts to foster global health, climate sustainability, and supply chain initiatives, according to USAID Chief Information Officer Jason Gray. Gray recently joined my colleague Wyatt KAsh, and Jamie Baker, director of federal civilian health science policy at Amazon Web Services, for a conversation about how leveraging the cloud can reduce administrative overhead, free up resources to support more meaningful work, and accelerate automation and speed up security patching and development. The Daily Scoop Podcast is available every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon. If you want to hear more of the latest from Washington, subscribe to The Daily Scoop Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Spotify.

As a member of Congress, Will Hurd made a name for himself in the federal technology space as one of the largest advocates for agency cybersecurity and technology modernization. The former CIA operations officer helped penned legislation that created the Technology Modernization Fund, and regularly conducted oversight hearings around the Federal IT Acquisition Reform Act, better known as FITARA. Hurd, who left Congress in 2021 and until recently was vying to be president, spoke with my colleague Elias Groll about his campaign and why he wants to convince his party to focus on what he sees as a series of generational technological threats.

Climate change and defense – two topics that you don’t often think about together. But in recent years, the Defense Department has made sustainability, climate and energy resiliency top priorities related to national security. And it makes sense – not only is the DOD one of the largest energy consumers in the world, but in the digital age, emerging threats put the department’s access to energy at risk in novel and new ways. Joining The Daily Scoop Podcast to discuss the DOD’s focus on the climate and energy, how innovative technology plays a role in that and what’s coming next is Brendan Owens, assistant secretary of defense for energy, installation and environment. The Daily Scoop Podcast is available every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon. If you want to hear more of the latest from Washington, subscribe to The Daily Scoop Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Spotify.

After bringing the government shutdown clock to the very brink of a closure over the weekend, Congress was able to reach a short-term continuing resolution to keep the government funded through Nov. 17. While that’s a better-than-worst-case-scenario outcome, it still has some impacts for the way agencies must operate without full appropriations. And there’s a strong possibility we may be right back in a race against the clock just before Thanksgiving as Congress must reach a funding agreement prior to that Nov. 17 deadline. Meagan Metzger, CEO of Dcode, joins The Daily Scoop Podcast now to discuss the impact. The Daily Scoop Podcast is available every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon. If you want to hear more of the latest from Washington, subscribe to The Daily Scoop Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Spotify.

The Special Competitive Studies Project, which has continued the work of the now dissolved National Security Commission on AI, issued its latest report this week on generative AI and its impact on the global competitive landscape. That report states, among other things, that recent advancements in AI come as transformations in geopolitical structuring resemble that of the days leading up to World War I. And because of that, “This moment provides the United States government with a unique opportunity to lead with conviction as humanity enters a new era.“ Ylli Bajraktari is the CEO and President of the Special Competitive Studies Project, and he joins The Daily Scoop Podcast to discuss the major takeaways from SCSP’s new report and the stakes at play for the U.S. as it looks to embrace AI for defense, national security and more. The Daily Scoop Podcast is available every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon. If you want to hear more of the latest from Washington, subscribe to The Daily Scoop Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Spotify

The General Services Administration’s Federal Acquisition Service is in the midst of a major reorganization. Led by Commissioner Sonny Hashmi, the reorganization will be implemented beginning next month at the start of fiscal year 2024 to better meet the needs of federal customers and simplify interactions with GSA. Hashmi, a longtime federal servant and former CIO of GSA, joins me now to discuss the reorg, how FAS is looking to make government work for everyone with the results of a new equity survey and how good acquisition is essential to the administration’s tech modernization agenda. The Daily Scoop Podcast is available every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon. If you want to hear more of the latest from Washington, subscribe to The Daily Scoop Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Spotify

Dr. Kelly Fletcher, the CIO of the State Department, discusses efforts to support democracy and diplomacy through modern technology. She emphasizes the need to modernize networks, communication devices, and improve user experience. The significance of data storage, network architecture, and 'tech for life' in the State Department are also explored.

FedScoop hosted its annual FedTalks Sept. 6 in Washington D.C. In its 14th year, the event is the largest annual gathering of C-level executives, leaders and innovators from the government and tech community. One of those leaders was Ann Dunkin, CIO of the Energy Department, who delivered a keynote on DOE’s ongoing modernization efforts. During the FedTalk, Dunkin shared progress of her IT enterprise’s top ongoing initiatives and what’s coming next. The Daily Scoop Podcast is available every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon. If you want to hear more of the latest from Washington, subscribe to The Daily Scoop Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify and Stitcher.

FedScoop hosted its annual FedTalks Sept. 6 in Washington D.C. In its 14th year, the event is the largest annual gathering of C-level executives, leaders and innovators from the government and tech community. A sure highlight of the day came in a FedTalk from Commerce CIO Andre Mendes. During his energy-filled keynote Mendes explored what the future of digital services in government could look like and shared advice for how CIOs should approach modernization to get to that point. The Daily Scoop Podcast is available every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon. If you want to hear more of the latest from Washington, subscribe to The Daily Scoop Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Spotify.

The podcast discusses the evolution of cloud in the federal government and the transformation of FedRAMP under the Biden administration. It explores topics such as efficiency, burden reduction, SaaS providers, cybersecurity, and the future of FedRAMP.