Bill to overhaul agencies’ software purchasing progresses in Senate

A bill that would mandate the consolidation of federal software licenses and compel agencies to take a more transparent approach to software purchasing moved forward in the Senate on Wednesday.

The Strengthening Agency Management and Oversight of Software Assets (SAMOSA) Act was favorably reported out of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and will now move to the Senate floor to be debated by lawmakers.

The legislation has potentially sweeping implications for federal IT procurement executives, including a requirement that each agency inspector general conduct an independent review of software license management within their respective departments.

It also includes a detailed, governmentwide strategy to increase the interoperability of software acquired and deployed within agencies to cut costs and improve performance.

The Senate bill was reintroduced in March after an initial version was introduced by lawmakers in the previous Congress. The latest version was introduced by Sens. Gary Peters, D-Mich., Bill Cassidy, R-La., Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., Thom Tillis, R-N.C., Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, Ron Wyden, D-Ore. and John Hickenlooper, D-Colo.

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