December 8, 2022

The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
Speaker
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515

The Honorable Kevin McCarthy
Minority Leader
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable Charles E. Schumer
Majority Leader
U.S. Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510

The Honorable Mitch McConnell
Majority Leader
U.S. Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510

Dear Speaker Pelosi, Majority Leader Schumer, Minority Leader McCarthy, and Minority Leader McConnell:

We, the undersigned, ask the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate to prioritize enactment of the Strengthening Agency Management and Oversight of Software Assets (SAMOSA) Act by the end of the calendar year.

This bipartisan legislation, initially introduced by Sens. Gary Peters (D-MI) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA) as S.4908, was reported favorably out of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee with unanimous support. It was introduced in the House by Reps. Cartwright (D, PA-08) and Fitzpatrick (R, PA-01) as H.R.9330 in November.

According to a new report by Garland Management Consulting, the U.S. government is the largest buyer of information technology (IT) in the world, spending $10 to $15 billion in tax dollars for software each year. The Strengthening Agency Management and Oversight of Software Assets Act would require federal agency heads to conduct an assessment of their agency’s software contracts, offering key insights on costs and management of these large-scale purchases. SAMOSA’s reporting and accounting requirements will lead to fewer redundancies in software purchasing and bolster competition among vendors that will lower prices. As a result, federal software procurement will become a more efficient use of taxpayer funds by avoiding vendor-lock, a lack of meaningful competition in the software market because of fears of switching costs–which could save U.S. taxpayers $500 to $750 million annually.

Federal agencies have varying approaches to managing their IT costs, but vendor-lock prevents government IT managers from choosing the most efficient, cost-effective, and secure software programs. Punitive audits, restrictive licenses, and hidden costs are some of the ways that incumbent software vendors accomplish vendor-lock. SAMOSA’s objective is not only to improve interagency coordination and federal IT security, but also to ensure better returns on IT investments made with taxpayer dollars.

As advocates for the elimination of waste and inefficient uses of government resources, we urge you to seize the bipartisan momentum behind SAMOSA and include it in must-pass legislation this year. As vendor-lock in software procurement is reduced as a result of this legislation, the U.S. government can save Americans’ tax dollars.

Sincerely,

Tom Schatz 
President, Council for Citizens Against Government Waste 

Edward Longe 
Director, Center for Tech and Innovation; The James Madison Institute 

C. Wayne Crews
Vice President for Policy and Senior Fellow, Competitive Enterprise Institute 

Steve Delbianco
President, NetChoice 

Mario Lopez 
President, Hispanic Leadership Fund 

David Williams 
President, Taxpayers Protection Alliance 

Bartlett Cleland 
Executive Director, Innovation Economy Institute 

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