S. 1956 · Where this bill is now
In committee
Introduced in the Senate, Jun 4, 2025
What this bill does
In plain words · AI-written from the official summaryFederal agencies must track and manage software spending
Right now, federal agencies buy and use lots of software, but many don't have a clear picture of what they own, what it costs, or how it all works together. This bill requires every agency to take inventory of all the software they pay for and use, figure out what it actually costs when you add in all the fees and extras, and check how well different software programs work with each other. Then each agency has to make a plan to cut down on duplicate software purchases, get better deals when buying, and make sure departments can't use software without approval.
How it affects you
This doesn't directly change anything in your daily life, but it could eventually save taxpayer money. The bill asks the federal government to get smarter about how it buys and manages software, which means fewer wasted dollars that could go elsewhere. It also asks the government's budget office to study how to make software licenses work better together across agencies and recommend improvements to Congress.
Read the official summary (Introduced in Senate, Jun 4, 2025)
Strengthening Agency Management and Oversight of Software Assets Act
This bill requires federal agencies to assess their software inventory and develop software management plans.
The bill requires each agency (which includes any executive department, military department, or other establishment in the executive branch) to complete a comprehensive assessment of the software paid for by, in use at, or deployed throughout the agency. The assessment must include information such as (1) the current inventory of software; (2) contracts and other arrangements used to acquire, build, deploy, or use the software; (3) costs and fees not included in the initial contract or agreement; and (4) the interoperability of the software and restrictions on its use.
Each agency must use their assessment to develop a plan to consolidate software entitlements, develop procedures for cost-effective acquisition strategies, and restrict subordinate entities from using any software entitlement without approval. (A software entitlement is software that has been purchased, leased, or licensed by or billed to an agency and that is subject to use limitations.) Such plans must be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and Congress.
Within two years of enactment, OMB must submit recommendations to Congress regarding government software procurement policies and practices to
• increase the interoperability of software licenses,
• consolidate licenses when appropriate,
• reduce costs,
• improve performance, and
• modernize the management and oversight of agency software.
The GAO must report on certain related topics, including governmentwide trends in agency software asset management practices and comparisons of such practices among agencies.
Written by AI (Claude) using only the official summary by the Congressional Research Service, the Library of Congress’s nonpartisan research staff. It can miss nuance, so check the official summary and the bill text for details.
1st SessionS. 1956
A BILL
Strengthening Agency Management and Oversight of Software Assets Act
Sponsor: Sen. Gary C. Peters (D-MI) · Introduced Jun 4, 2025 · Government Operations and Politics · 1 version of the text
Sources: Congress.gov actions and votes · bill text from GovInfo · latest official action Jun 4, 2025: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.”