Inside the Pentagon highlights

Some must-reads from this week's edition of Inside the Pentagon:

1. The Government Accountability Office has been asked by congressional defense committee staffers to "informally" evaluate data-based assertions made by Frank Kendall, the Pentagon's acquisition chief, that the Defense Department's Better Buying Power initiative has controlled weapon system contract costs.

Full story: Capitol Hill asks GAO to examine Kendall's Better Buying Power assertions

2. The Pentagon's lack of an effective process to identify cloud computing service contracts makes it challenging to determine whether these efforts are saving money, the Defense Department inspector general found in a new report.

Full story: DOD IG: Pentagon cannot measure effectiveness of cloud computing efforts

3. The omnibus spending bill signed by the president last month requires federal agencies to put in place an enhanced program that will consider publicly available electronic information and social media when examining security-cleared workers.

Full story: Omnibus bill expands security clearance review scope