Inside the Pentagon highlights

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

1. House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry (R-TX) said this week he wants to work with his Senate counterparts to send a final fiscal year 2019 defense authorization bill to President Trump by the end of July.

Full story: Thornberry wants final defense authorization bill complete by end of July

2. The House Appropriations defense subcommittee has increased funding for select weapon system projects by nearly $4.5 billion in its mark of the Pentagon's fiscal year 2019 spending bill, a hike achieved in part by diverting $2 billion away from Defense Department-requested projects in order to benefit National Guard programs, aircraft procurement and purchases of additional ships.

Full story: House panel shifts funds to hike procurement for select weapons by $4.5B

3. House lawmakers are moving to restrict how quickly the Defense Department can shift other transaction agreements from prototype work to production after government auditors ruled DOD improperly awarded a nearly $1 billion follow-on production agreement earlier this spring.

Full story: Lawmakers move to tighten OTA production authorities after REAN Cloud controversy

4. A panel tasked with helping the Defense Department streamline acquisition is readying a recommendation for the military to more effectively manage its big-ticket programs by administering them through "enterprise capability portfolios."

Full story: Acquisition reform panel takes aim at Pentagon's major program management