Strengthening Agency Management and Oversight of Software Assets Act
Sponsored By: Representative Brown
Passed House
Summary
This law creates a government-wide framework to strengthen federal software asset management by forcing agencies to inventory, assess, and modernize software entitlements while coordinating across OMB and GSA for standards and oversight.
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- Agency IT leaders must run a detailed software assessment within 18 months that lists inventories, entitlements, contracts, duplicate or unused licenses, cloud costs, interoperability limits, and largest vendor entitlements. These assessments must go to agency heads, OMB, GSA, GAO, and relevant congressional committees.
- Agencies must build a Software Modernization Plan within 1 year of their assessment that consolidates licenses, pursues enterprise or open-source options, automates license tracking, requires CIO approval for new acquisitions, and includes training and cost estimates to reduce waste and improve interoperability.
- OMB and GSA will harmonize definitions and procurement practices and report recommended government-wide actions within 2 years. GAO will issue a government-wide progress report in 3 years. Agencies may hire external contractors for assessments if conflicts of interest are avoided.
*This Act does not authorize new appropriations to carry out its requirements.*
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
5 provisions identified: 4 benefits, 1 costs, 0 mixed.
Agency plans to modernize software buying
If enacted, each CIO would use the review to draft a software modernization plan within 1 year after submitting the assessment. The plan would consolidate licenses, use enterprise deals or open‑source where it makes sense, and estimate costs and savings. It would address limits in licenses, improve interoperability, automate license management and discovery, and train staff. Bureaus and programs could not buy or use software without CIO approval, coordinated with acquisition. The CIO could ask OMB and GSA for help. Contracts that support this work would exclude conflicted vendors and keep assessors independent.
Agency-wide software checks and reporting
If enacted, every executive agency CIO would review all software the agency pays for, uses, or deploys. The CIO would work with the CFO, acquisition, data, and legal chiefs. The review would be done as soon as possible and no later than 18 months after enactment. It would list software licenses, contracts, extra fees and cloud costs, limits on use, and how well tools work together. Within 30 days after the review, the agency head would send it to OMB, GSA, GAO, and key House and Senate committees. The bill would also define key terms like agency (excluding intelligence elements), software entitlement, and software inventory to guide this work.
Government-wide software standards and oversight reports
If enacted, OMB would work with GSA and federal councils to set common terms and requirements for software. OMB would use existing reporting where possible. Within 2 years after enactment, OMB would send Congress recommendations to boost license interoperability (including government‑built tools), combine licenses, cut costs, and improve performance. Within 3 years, GAO would report on trends, compare agencies, review OMB’s harmonization work, and check compliance with contractor restrictions.
Protected software reviews for intelligence agencies
If enacted, each intelligence element would run its own software review through a designee. The review would protect information that could harm national security if shared. The element head would send a short summary to OMB and the House and Senate intelligence committees within 30 days. The element head would send the plan within 1 year after that summary.
No new funding to carry this out
If enacted, the bill would not authorize new money for these tasks. Agencies would need to use existing budgets to do the required reviews and plans. This could slow work if resources are tight.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Brown
OH • D
Cosponsors
Mace
SC • R
Sponsored 9/18/2025
Fallon
TX • R
Sponsored 9/18/2025
McClain Delaney
MD • D
Sponsored 9/18/2025
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
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