Federal software buying bill is back in play in the House

Congress is poised to make yet another run at legislation to reform agency software purchasing practices, with the reintroduction in the House last week of the Strengthening Agency Management and Oversight of Software Assets Act.

The SAMOSA Act, which passed the House last December, would require federal agencies to comprehensively assess their software licensing practices, a move aimed at curbing duplicative tech, streamlining future purchases and reducing IT costs.

“The GAO has found the federal government spends more than $100 billion annually on information technology and cybersecurity, including software licenses. Far too often, taxpayer dollars are wasted on these systems and licenses agencies fail to use,” Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., chair of the House Oversight Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Information Technology, and Government Innovation, said in a press release. 

“Our SAMOSA Act requires agencies to account for existing software assets and consolidate purchases: reducing redundancy, increasing accountability, and saving potentially billions for American taxpayers,” she continued. “By modernizing federal IT procurement, this legislation ensures greater oversight and demonstrates our responsibility to be faithful stewards of every taxpayer dollar.”

Reps. Shontel Brown, D-Ohio, Pat Fallon, R-Texas, and April McClain Delaney, D-Md., are the other co-sponsors of the legislation. Former House Oversight Committee ranking member Gerry Connolly, D-Va., was a strong supporter of the SAMOSA Act before his death from cancer in May.

Brown, ranking member of the House Oversight Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Information Technology, and Government Innovation, said she was “proud” to re-introduce the bill that Connolly “championed,” and she’s working on building additional bipartisan support for it.

“The SAMOSA Act is straightforward legislation to streamline federal software purchasing and make sure taxpayer dollars are used effectively,” Brown said. “We all know how complicated it can be to manage software and this legislation will help agencies track and manage purchases.”

The bill also calls on agencies to create software inventories and face independent examinations of their software license management practices and contracts. Agency chief information officers would be charged with developing plans aimed at bolstering negotiations with software vendors, adopting enterprise licensing deals and lowering costs.

The Office of Management and Budget, meanwhile, would be directed to publish a governmentwide software modernization strategy based on agency audits and plans. Agencies would be required to include those plans and performance assessments in their annual budgets.

The SAMOSA Act, which has a companion led by Sens. Gary Peters, D-Mich., and Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, has enjoyed heavy backing from leading technology trade groups, including NetChoice, the Alliance for Digital Innovation, the Software & Information Industry Association, the Computer & Communications Industry Association and the Coalition for Fair Software Licensing.

“We are excited the SAMOSA Act is back on the radar and thank Representatives Brown, Fallon, McClain Delaney, and Mace for leading the charge to promote transparency, accountability, and cost savings in federal software purchasing,” Ryan Triplette, executive director of the Coalition for Fair Software Licensing, said in a statement. “The SAMOSA Act is an important step to reduce redundancies and create efficiencies in the federal government, and we look forward to the passage of this important piece of legislation.”