Government Matters

‘They surprised everybody,’ John Kirby says of Ukrainians John Kirby, coordinator for strategic communications for the White House National Security Council, discusses national security events of 2022 including Brittney Griner’s release from Russian custody, the Russia-Ukraine War and US relations with China. A look back at 2022’s top tech and cyber stories. Jill Aitoro, senior vice president of content strategy for CyberRisk Alliance, and Ross Wilkers, senior staff reporter for Washington Technology, discuss this year’s top stories in tech and cyber news. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Helping survivors of sexual assault in the Air ForceGina Ortiz Jones, under secretary of the U.S. Air Force discusses the Air Force’s pilot program to address sexual assault, defense budget delays and boosting recruitment and retention ratesUSDA helps promote tribal relationsHeather Dawn Thompson, director of the Office of Tribal Relations at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, discusses the role of the USDA in tribal relationsSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Health benefits for veterans Dr. Shereef Elnahal, undersecretary of Veterans Affairs for Health, discusses the Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act and the VA’s hiring efforts Top federal workforce stories of 2022Tanya Ballard Brown, executive editor of Government Executive, and Jason Miller, executive editor of Federal News Network, take a look at the top stories in 2022 for the federal workforce Fighting food insecurityDaniel Whitley, administrator at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service, discusses the agency’s role in fighting food insecurity See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A look back at top defense stories of 2022Aaron Mehta, editor in chief of Breaking Defense, Marcus Weisgerber Global Business editor for Defense One and Leo Shane III, deputy editor for Military Times give their thoughts on the year’s top defense events. ‘Outlook for Russian oil industry is pretty bleak,’ CSIS fellow saysBen Cahill, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, discusses the price cap on Russian oil.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Simplifying the vetting process of travelers to the USMonte Hawkins, director of the National Vetting Center, discusses the current role of the center and how it looks to expand in the future. The future of US-Pakistan relationsHusain Haqqani, director of South and Central Asia at the Hudson Institute, discusses the relationship between the U.S. and Pakistan.FCC bans Chinese telecom equipmentJack Corrigan, research analyst at Georgetown’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology discusses the Federal Communications Commission’s ban of Chinese telecom and video surveillance equipment.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Is the US ‘overhyping’ Chinese threat?Michael O’Hanlon, senior fellow and director of research at the Brookings Institution, discusses the Pentagon’s report on Chinese military powerMauna Loa continues to eruptAndria Ellis, United States Geological Survey (USGS) geophysicist at Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, discusses Mauna Loa and other U.S. volcanosProtecting critical infrastructure from cyber threats Rick Driggers, critical infrastructure cyber lead at Accenture Federal Services and former assistant director for the integrated operations division at CISA, discusses how to better protect critical infrastructure from cyberattacks See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

‘Russia has grossly miscalculated and mismanaged this war,’ Ambassador Kristjan Prikk saysEstonia’s Ambassador to the U.S. Kristjan Prikk discuses giving aid to Ukraine and security against RussiaCreating a better customer experience in the federal government Loren DeJonge Schulman, vice president of research, evaluation and modernizing government at the Partnership for Public Service, discusses how to improve the customer experience for citizens.  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Protecting the US from terror attacksChristine Abizaid, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, discusses combatting terrorist threats to the U.S.Bringing new technology to the DHSMelissa Oh, managing director of the Silicon Valley Innovation Program at the Department of Homeland Security, discusses partnering with start-ups to bring new technology to the DHSSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Who’s vulnerable to human trafficking?  Kari Johnstone, acting director of the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons at the U.S. Department of State, discusses how the government is working on combatting human trafficking in the U.S. and globally. Protecting the environment keeps Americans safe Chris Frey, assistant administrator for research and development at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) discusses how the agency is working to protect humans and the environment. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

‘Meeting people where they are’ is the key to increasing innovation, director of the USPTO saysKathi Vidal, the undersecretary of commerce for intellectual property and director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), discusses increasing women entrepreneurship and the importance of protecting intellectual property. Vets must ‘create their own career path’ in the federal governmentLloyd Calderon, chair of the Interagency Veterans Advisory Council, discusses the status of veterans in the federal workforceSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

NASA’s Artemis program is inspiring the next generationNASA deputy administrator Pam Melroy discusses the goals of the Artemis 1 mission, future NASA projects and inspiring the next generation of scientistsAddressing security risks with smart devicesBrandon Pugh, resident senior fellow at the R Street Institute, discusses security and privacy risks with consumer smart devices and how to better inform consumers of these risks. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Modernization, innovation and retention – US Marine Corps is making changesU.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. Troy Black discusses upcoming changes in the Marine Corps such as modernizing personnel systems, new training techniques, retention goals and the Marine Innovation Unit   Developing direct air capture technologyPamela Chu, researcher at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, describes NIST’s efforts to improve direct air capture technologies to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphereSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Dr. Rochelle Walensky discusses the future of the CDC, RSV and flu season and racism as a health threatSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Secretary of the VA on PACT Act, improving VA services Secretary of Veterans Affairs Denis McDonough discusses the implementation of the Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act and other improvements to VA health services.What’s new with federal benefits in 2023Kevin Moss, director of marketing at Checkbook Health, discusses the upcoming changes to federal employees’ benefitsSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Adding regulations to cryptocurrency Josephine Wolff, associate professor of cybersecurity policy at the Fletcher School at Tufts University, discusses what regulating cryptocurrency in the U.S. could look like   Opposition efforts from the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan against the Taliban Ali Nazary, head of foreign relations for the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan, explains how the organization is fighting against the Taliban in Afghanistan   Congress reauthorizes the SBIR program for three more years Michael Crosby, CEO of Leadership Connect, discusses funding for the Small Business Innovation Research programSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

US Fish and Wildlife Service conservation projects Martha Williams, director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, discusses the agency’s current projects for conservation efforts   National Guard to stay at US-Mexico border Theresa Cardinal Brown, managing director of immigration and cross-border policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center, explains the roles of National Guard troops at the U.S.-Mexico border   Ukraine to be topic at Halifax International Security Forum Peter Van Praagh, president of the Halifax Security Forum, speaks about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and other topics of discussion at this year’s Halifax International Security Forum.  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Barriers to receiving federal aid after natural disasters Maddie Sloan, director of the Disaster Recovery and Fair Housing project at Texas Appleseed, explores the barriers survivors of natural disasters face when trying to receive federal aid   Global progress on climate change Harry Stevens, graphics reporter at the Washington Post, discusses global climate change initiatives   Federal government facing leadership challenges Max Stier, president and CEO of Partnership for Public Service, discusses recruiting and retaining federal employees  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Dr. Anthony Fauci reflects on his 54 years of public service Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, reflects on his 54 years of service, including his work on the HIV/AIDS crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic   China named as biggest threat to US in latest National Defense Strategy Jim Mitre, director of the International Security and Defense Policy Program at the RAND Corporation, discusses the threats of China and Russia in the 2022 National Defense StrategySee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

State Department’s plan to decrease illegal weapons diversion in Ukraine  Elias Yousif, research analyst for the Conventional Defense Program at the Stimson Center, discusses the State Department’s new plan to prevent illegal weapons diversion   What Xi Jinping’s third term means for the US Bradley Bowman, senior director of the Center on Military and Political Power at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, discusses President Xi’s third term, possible strategic shifts, the threat of Chinese space activity and potential conflict with Taiwan   New President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities Crosby Kemper, director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, explains the importance of the arts and humanities to democracy in the U.S. and discusses a recent executive order reestablishing a committee on this topicSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Identifying and recovering missing service member remains Kelly McKeague, director of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, discusses his agency’s work of finding and recovering American service members who were taken as prisoners of war or were missing in action in past conflicts   The Pentagon’s counter-drone strategy Tom Karako, director of the Missile Defense Project at CSIS, discusses Russian nuclear exercises, Iranian drones in Ukraine, air defense and the Pentagon’s strategySee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.