House passes agency software-buying bill, waits on Senate again

The House on Monday passed a bill that would revamp how agencies purchase software, putting the legislation in the same place it was a year ago: waiting for the Senate to follow suit as the clock ticks down on the congressional calendar. 

The Strengthening Agency Management and Oversight of Software Assets (SAMOSA) Act would require agencies to examine their software licensing practices, with the aim of streamlining IT buying practices to avoid duplicative purchases. The bill is identical to legislation that passed the House last December but did not move forward in the Senate.

The House bill, co-sponsored by Reps. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., Shontel Brown, D-Ohio, Pat Fallon, R-Texas, and April McClain Delaney, D-Md., would press agencies to better manage their software without limiting procurement options. They would be required to submit IT assessments to the Office of Management and Budget, the General Services Administration and Congress, so better oversight could be conducted.

On the House floor Monday, Brown credited her three co-sponsors as well as former Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., who died of cancer in May after taking the lead on this bill in addition to his myriad other government IT efforts. 

Brown, ranking member of the House Oversight Cybersecurity, Information Technology, and Government Innovation subcommittee, said the SAMOSA Act is a “straightforward good government bill that has strong bipartisan support from members of the Oversight Committee.”

“This bill can improve planning for software management, automate processes, train staff, and improve our cybersecurity,” the Ohio Democrat added. “And here’s a key point: Industry experts estimate the bill could save up to $750 million each year taxpayer funding. This is real government efficiency, and it’s from legislation that has gone through committee with support and input from both sides of the aisle.”

Mace, who chairs the House Oversight IT and cyber panel, said in a statement that with the bill’s passage Monday, lawmakers are now “one step closer to improving oversight of software procurement, eliminating waste and duplicative purchases, and ensuring the federal government serves as a faithful steward of taxpayer dollars.”

The SAMOSA Act has long been championed by a host of technology trade groups, including the Coalition for Fair Software Licensing, the Computer & Communications Industry Association, the Alliance for Digital Innovation, NetChoice, OpenPolicy and the Software Information Industry Association. Lawmakers, meanwhile, have considered forms of the bill since at least 2022.

All eyes now turn to the upper chamber, where Sens. Gary Peters, D-Mich., Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, Bill Cassidy, R-La., James Lankford, R-Okla., Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Thom Tillis, R-N.C., reintroduced the bill in June. The legislation hasn’t moved since, awaiting consideration from the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Peters serves as ranking member of the panel, which is chaired by Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky.