Strengthening Agency Management and Oversight of Software Assets Act

This bill pushes federal agencies to get their software houses in order. Within 18 months, each agency must do a full check-up of all the software it pays for and uses, including what it actually uses, what’s sitting unused, how much it all really costs (like cloud fees), and whether different tools can work together. Agencies must then send this assessment to oversight officials shortly after it’s done . Agencies can hire outside help for this work, but not vendors with conflicts of interest, and those contractors must stay independent from day-to-day software operations .

After the check-up, each agency has a year to make a plan to modernize and save money. Plans must aim to cut waste, consolidate licenses (like moving to enterprise deals), prevent offices from buying software without central approval, and improve training so staff know how to buy and manage software wisely. Plans should also automate license tracking, use usage analytics to spot waste, and look for licenses that are more flexible or lower cost, including open-source where it makes sense. Purchases should use clear, public criteria that don’t favor one vendor without a legal reason . The White House budget office will coordinate common terms and, within two years, recommend ways to improve interoperability, cut costs, and boost performance across government. An independent watchdog will report in about three years on how well agencies followed through. No new money is authorized for this effort .

• Who is affected: Federal agencies and their employees; indirect effects on software vendors and taxpayers .
• What changes: Better tracking of software, fewer unused licenses, smarter buying, more compatible tools, and clearer rules to avoid vendor lock-in .
• When: Agency assessments due within 18 months; agency modernization plans due one year after each assessment; cross-government recommendations due in about two years; an oversight report due in about three years .