H.R. 5457: Strengthening Agency Management and Oversight of Software Assets Act

H.R. 5457 would require federal agencies to do a much deeper review of their software holdings, contracts, licenses, and related cloud costs. The goal is simple: give agency leaders and Congress a clearer picture of what software is being bought, what is actually being used, and where agencies may be paying for duplicate, unused, or overly restrictive products. In practice, the bill is about better management, not flashy new technology.

The legislation expands existing software inventory requirements into something more rigorous. Agencies would have to examine not just what software they have, but also hidden or extra costs, license restrictions, interoperability problems, and whether purchases are being made in a fragmented way across offices. It also pushes agency leaders to think across the whole enterprise instead of letting individual bureaus buy software on their own without central review.

A major feature is the requirement that each agency create a modernization and consolidation plan based on its assessment. That means agencies would be expected to reduce waste, adopt more cost-effective buying strategies like enterprise licensing, and tighten internal approval for future software purchases. If carried out well, that could reduce duplicative spending and improve negotiating leverage with major software vendors.

The bill also builds in oversight. Agencies must send their assessments to OMB, GSA, the Government Accountability Office, and key congressional committees. Contractors can be used to help with the assessments, but the bill tries to avoid conflicts of interest by barring firms that are too entangled with the software they are reviewing. Intelligence agencies are mostly carved out from the regular definition of "agency," but the bill creates a separate, more protected assessment process for them in recognition of national security concerns.