(dot) Gov: National Defense, Veterans, And The Federal Workers Responsible For Both

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🗓️ 7 January 2025

⏱️ 37 minutes

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Summary

Few Americans familiar with the federal government are unaware of the Department of Defense. The DOD is one of our largest agencies with a budget of $2 trillion dollars. That's roughly 16 percent of the entire federal budget.

And few veterans are unaware of the Department of Veterans Affairs, also called the VA. It facilitates programs that benefit those who've served in the armed forces and their families.

But who's watching over that trillion-dollar defense budget? And who's making sure those programs that help veterans are working?

For this installment of (dot) Gov, we dive into the federal workers who help make sure the DOD and the VA stay up and running.

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0:26.7	In just two weeks, President-elect Trump is slated to be sworn in as the country's 47th president.
0:32.2	But as the new administration prepares to take office, many federal workers are bracing for cuts.
0:37.6	Trump has said he plans to slash federal positions to, quote, dismantle government bureaucracy.
0:43.5	The more than 2 million government workers across the country, around 80% of whom are outside Washington, D.C., do critical work that keeps all facets of U.S. life running.
0:48.9	For our series, dot-gov, we're diving into some of the trials and triumphs of running federal
0:53.8	agencies. Today, our spotlight is on the state of the trials and triumphs of running federal agencies.
0:55.0	Today, our spotlight is on the state of the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
1:00.3	I'm Jen White. You're listening to the 1A podcast where we get to the heart of the story. Stay with us. We've got a lot to get into.
1:10.2	The Indicator is a podcast where daily economic news is about what matters to you.
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1:35.8	Let's get right into the conversation with our guests. Leo Shane III joins us today. He's the
1:41.0	deputy editor at the Military Times. Leo, thanks for joining us.
1:44.9	Thanks for the invite. Also with us is Catherine Kuzminski. She's the deputy director of studies
1:50.2	and the director of the Military Veterans and Society program at the Center for New
1:54.2	American Security. That's a think tank specializing in U.S. national security issues. Catherine,
	...

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