The Federal Drive with Terry Gerton

Welcome to this holiday edition of the Federal Drive on Federal News Network. It's Monday, October 12. I'm your host Terry Gerton, and I'm glad you're here. Thank you for making the Federal Drive part of your Columbus Day holiday today. I wanted to bring you the recording of a panel I moderated at the NDIA Emerging Technologies for Defense Conference on September 9th. The topic is an important one. The Pentagon is increasingly looking beyond contracts and grants to shape the defense industrial base through venture capital, private equity, new financing mechanisms, and even direct government investment. The panel explores why defense leaders believe capital markets have become a national security tool, what we've learned from this shift, and whether it's changing the way military capability is built and scaled. The panelists are experts: Michael Brown from Shield Capital, Paul Madera from Meritec Capital Partners, and Frank Finelli from the Carlyle Group.
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The Government Accountability Office recently made big headlines with its report on the cost of the deferred resignation program. In 2025, agencies spent nearly $7 billion paying federal employees *not* to work. But there's more to the story beyond the headline, like the other factors to consider when calculating DRP costs versus savings, and the limitations of what we actually know about the program. To get into the details, Federal News Network's Drew Friedman sat down with the author of the widely covered report, GAO's Director of Strategic Issues Dawn Locke..
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The new leader of the Transportation Security Administration is laying out a bold vision for the future of TSA. TSA Administrator David Cummins says the agency’s Horizon 25 strategy is aimed at modernizing airport checkpoints and improving the traveler experience. For more on how those plans are coming together, Federal News Network’s Justin Doubleday joins me.
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Nearly every veteran has earned burial benefits through military service, but only a fraction of eligible families ever use them. Many families don't learn what's available until they're faced with decisions that can't be postponed. Here to discuss what veterans and their families can do before that moment arrives is Mike Meese, president of Armed Forces Mutual.
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Every year, the AUSA conference offers clues about where Army leaders are focused and where the toughest debates may lie ahead. This year's gathering comes amid leadership changes, continuing modernization efforts and new questions about alliance management. Gen. Robert Brown, president of the Association of the United States Army, joins me now with a conference sneak peek.
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