WASHINGTON—Today, the U.S. House Committee on Oversight & Government Reform will mark up H.R. 5457, the bipartisan Strengthening Agency Management and Oversight of Software Assets Act (SAMOSA Act). NetChoice strongly encourages Members of the committee to vote yes on this important bill that will improve processes for federal IT software contracting, save billions for taxpayers and increase the government’s cybersecurity.
“NetChoice encourages the House Oversight committee to unanimously approve the SAMOSA Act today, and we commend Reps. Fallon, Delaney and Mace for championing this effort in the House. If implemented, this legislation will increase competition for government software contracts, encouraging companies to enhance their product quality, security and overall value, saving taxpayers money,” said Amy Bos, NetChoice Vice President of Government Affairs.
“For decades now, anticompetitive practices like vendor lock have set back the federal IT system and squandered taxpayer dollars. A recent NetChoice report showed that reforming these procurement practices could save taxpayers billions. The committee should swiftly advance it.”
The practice of “vendor lock” by a few incumbent software providers has continued to squander valuable taxpayer resources on IT systems. This practice “locks” federal agencies into software contracts that discourage competition through restrictive licenses, punitive audits, fees and more.
The federal government spends nearly $20 billion every year on commercial software yet agencies and lawmakers lack even the most basic information on what software the government buys and how much it pays. The SAMOSA Act would provide much needed reforms to this process and increase accountability and oversight.
You can find the SAMOSA Act here.
Read a coalition letter NetChoice signed, sent to the Committee today, here.
Read IT expert Michael Garland’s recent paper, sponsored by NetChoice, on why the federal government must end vendor lock here.
Please contact press@netchoice.org with inquiries.
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