WASHINGTON—Today, NetChoice, joined by a coalition of 6 additional free market groups, circulated a letter asking Congress to prioritize passing the Strengthening Agency Management and Oversight of Software Assets (SAMOSA) Act by the end of the calendar year.
If passed, the bipartisan SAMOSA Act would improve interagency coordination, increase federal information technology (IT) security and ensure better returns on IT investments made with taxpayer dollars.
The SAMOSA Act would enable federal software procurement to become a more efficient use of taxpayer funds by avoiding “vendor-lock,” which is a lack of meaningful competition in the software market because of fears of switching costs. Doing so could save U.S. taxpayers between $500 to $750 million annually.
Originally introduced by Sens. Gary Peters (D-MI) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA) as S.4908, the SAMOSA Act was unanimously approved by the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Its companion bill was introduced in the House in November by Reps. Matt Cartwright (PA-08) and Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-01) as H.R.9330.
“Over the past 20 years, millions of federal dollars have been wasted due to anticompetitive practices like vendor-lock. If passed this year, the SAMOSA Act would empower competition for contracts in the IT space, incentivizing companies to improve their product quality and prices,” said NetChoice President and CEO Steve DelBianco.
“We call on Congress to prioritize this bipartisan effort and pass the SAMOSA Act before the end of this year. It’s a win for agencies, IT security and American taxpayers,” continued DelBianco.
Signers of the letter include NetChoice, Citizens Against Government Waste, the Competitive Enterprise Institute, Hispanic Leadership Fund, Innovation Economy Institute, The James Madison Institute, and Taxpayers Protection Alliance.
You can read the coalition letter here and below. Please contact Krista Chavez at press@netchoice.org with any inquiries.