Federal Drive interviews – Aug. 31

USDA's Administrator for the Farm Service Agency explains why ranchers need to keep good records of disaster damage. And the Nuclear Regulatory Commission...

Dev CulverExecutive Director and CEO, HealthInfoNet

A major part of health care reform is taking shape as a pilot project in Maine. The Affordable Care Act calls for the formation of Health Information Exchanges. HealthInfoNet operates an exchange in Maine. Now, it’s staging an experiment to see how health care quality information can get baked in. The idea is for data to help guide public health officials.


Juan GarciaAdministrator for the Farm Service Agency, USDA

The Agriculture Department is urging livestock producers affected by natural disasters to keep good records. USDA operates several disaster assistance programs for farmers and ranchers. But they’ve run dry since they haven’t been authorized since September 2011. The department hopes Congress will reauthorize them. Until then, it’s telling ranchers to keep their receipts.


Linda HowellChief, Response Coordination Branch, Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff are riding out Hurricane Isaac in the eye of the storm. The agency has workers to help resident inspectors at nuclear plants in Louisiana and Mississippi. Linda Howell oversees the NRC’s regional response team in Texas, and she’s monitoring the three plants carefully.

Read more:

NRC, FEMA seek public input in pudating emergency preparedness guidance (Meeting Sept. 13 in Rockville, Md.)


Bill ShearDirector of Financial Markets and Community Investment Issues, GAO

The federal government operates 52 programs to help entrepreneurs. But the Government Accountability Office says they aren’t managed very well. A new report cites instances where agencies agreed to coordinate their support programs but never followed through. In other cases, agencies didn’t track, or failed to meet, their performance goals.


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