Peters Introduces Bipartisan Bill to Save Taxpayer Dollars by Improving How Federal Agencies Purchase Software

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI), Chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, introduced bipartisan legislation to save taxpayer dollars by improving management of how the federal government purchases and uses software. The bill would require agencies to conduct an independent, comprehensive assessment of their software licensing practices. This would be used by Congress, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and the General Services Administration (GSA) to increase federal oversight of software contracts in order to streamline operations and reduce wasteful spending. The legislation builds on a law written by Peters to reduce duplicative software purchases called the MEGABYTE Act. Since being signed into law, this legislation has saved taxpayers more than $450 million.

“Requiring federal agencies to conduct in-depth assessments of how they buy and use software will ensure they are making better informed decisions about how they purchase these technologies,” said Senator Peters. “The federal government spends nearly $100 billion a year on federal information technology. By streamlining how federal agencies acquire and utilize software, this legislation will modernize government operations and save taxpayer dollars.”

Billions of dollars are spent on software purchases and license modifications every year. Agencies lack of visibility on what they have already purchased, combined with the way vendors sell software, often leads to duplicative purchases. This increases vendor profits while detracting from important oversight. Peters’ legislation would help agencies formulate a plan to purchase software in a cost-effective manner.

The Strengthening Agency Management and Oversight of Software Assets Act would require federal agencies to provide independent, comprehensive assessment of their software purchasing practices to Congress, OMB, and GSA. The findings of these assessments will help lawmakers and federal Chief Information Officer’s (CIOs) to better manage how agencies’ acquire IT products. This will reduce costs, improve governance, and enhance agency performance. The legislation will allow agencies to receive fairer, more cost competitive deals on their software assets and achieve important IT modernization goals.

Peters has led numerous efforts to ensure that taxpayer dollars are spent effectively and efficiently. He convened a hearing to ensure pandemic emergency relief funds have been effectively used to help Americans affected by COVID-19. Peters’ bipartisan bill to save taxpayer dollars by ensuring federal property assets are disaster resilient has advanced in the Senate. As a part of the American Rescue Plan, Peters secured $1 billion for the Technology Modernization Fund to modernize federal government systems that deliver critical services, like unemployment insurance, to Americans. Peters’ provision to help save billions of federal taxpayer dollars by curbing erroneous payments to deceased individuals was signed into law last Congress. 

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