Ranking Member Connolly, Rep. Fallon, Rep. McClain Delaney, and Chairwoman Mace Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Streamline and Improve Federal Software Purchasing

Washington, D.C. (March 27, 2025)— Today, Congressman Gerald E. Connolly (D-VA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Congressman Pat Fallon (R-TX), Congresswoman April McClain Delaney (D-MD), and Congresswoman Nancy Mace (R-SC), Chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Information Technology, and Government Innovation, introduced the Strengthening Agency Management and Oversight of Software Assets (SAMOSA) Act. This bipartisan legislation will require agencies to conduct comprehensive assessments of their software licensing practices, allowing the federal government to streamline software purchasing and reduce unnecessary costs. The legislation previously passed the House in December 2024.

“The SAMOSA Act is a critical step toward ensuring that federal agencies manage their software assets with the same rigor and accountability we expect in the private sector,” said Ranking Member Connolly. “By improving transparency, reducing duplication, and leveraging enterprise licensing, we can save taxpayer dollars and modernize our IT infrastructure in a smart, strategic way.” 

“The reintroduction of the SAMOSA Act will not only improve efficiency and reduce unnecessary costs, but will also strengthen our cybersecurity assets,” said Congressman Fallon. “This bill takes a common sense approach to reduce wasteful government spending by requiring federal agencies to assess their software assets and eliminate redundancies. Its passage would be a crucial step in ensuring that our government operates in a more effective and transparent manner.”

“I’m proud to co-lead this legislation to improve efficiency within our federal agencies. By requiring in-depth assessments of how agencies buy and use software, this measure ensures that decisions are data-driven while reducing waste and cutting costs,” said Congresswoman McClain Delaney. “It’s a common-sense, bipartisan solution to save taxpayer dollars and improve our government’s work for the American people.”

“The federal government wastes billions every year on software it doesn’t need, doesn’t use, or already has,” said Chairwoman Mace. “The SAMOSA Act is a smart, bipartisan step to bring transparency, accountability, and common sense to federal IT spending. Taxpayers deserve better than duplicative licenses and bloated contracts—they deserve a government that actually knows what it’s buying.”

The federal government is the largest software customer in the world, spending billions of dollars every year on purchases, renewals, and license modifications. Current procurement and management processes, however, do not provide agencies with adequate transparency and often lead to wasteful spending on duplicative purchases of software licenses.

To increase agency oversight of software purchasing, improve efficiency, and reduce costs, the SAMOSA Act would require:

• Agencies to create a comprehensive software inventory and undergo an independent assessment of software license management practices and contracts;
• Agency Chief Information Officers (CIOs) to develop a plan to adopt enterprise licensing agreements, improving negotiating power against software vendors, and reduce costs;
• OMB to publish a governmentwide strategy for software modernization based on the aforementioned audits and plans; and
• Agencies to include their respective plans and performance assessments in annual budget submissions.

The SAMOSA Act is supported by the following organizations: The Coalition for Fair Software Licensing, the Computer & Communications Industry Association, NetChoice, and the Alliance for Digital Innovation.

Text of the SAMOSA Act is available here. 

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