Sens. Gary Peters, D-Mich., and Bill Cassidy, R-La., have reintroduced legislation that seeks to help the federal government save costs by overseeing how agencies purchase and use their software assets.
The Strengthening Agency Management and Oversight of Software Assets Act would provide the Office of Management and Budget and the General Services Administration the authority to oversee the government’s enterprise software spending to reduce duplicate purchases, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee said Wednesday.
Under the bill, agencies would be required to conduct an independent assessment of their software purchasing practices and submit their findings to Congress, OMB and GSA.
“By requiring federal agencies to better track their software purchases, this commonsense, bipartisan bill will reduce waste, save taxpayer dollars, strengthen cybersecurity, and modernize government operations to help ensure the federal government can more effectively serve taxpayers,” Peters, chairman of Senate HSGAC, said.
The legislation builds on the Megabyte Act, which has reportedly saved taxpayers more than $450 million since it was signed into law in 2016.
