HR-6654-119
Forwarded by Subcommittee to Full Committee by Voice Vote.
Sponsored by Nancy Mace (R-SC)
What it does
This bill would require the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to establish and implement a comprehensive software asset management policy. The policy would mandate maintaining a full inventory of all software licenses and subscriptions, identifying wasteful or redundant purchases, coordinating major software acquisitions through the Chief Information Officer, and adopting cost-effective licensing strategies. The bill also requires annual employee training, a GAO review after three years, and annual cost-savings reporting to Congress. All requirements would sunset five years after enactment and must be carried out using existing VA resources — no new funding or offices are authorized.
Who benefits
Veterans who receive VA services, to the extent that reduced software waste frees up resources for care and benefits. VA employees who would receive clearer guidance and training on software procurement. Taxpayers broadly, if the policy reduces overspending on redundant or underused software licenses. Software vendors offering enterprise-wide licensing agreements, who may gain larger consolidated contracts. Congressional oversight committees, who would receive structured annual reporting on cost savings.
Who is hurt
Software vendors currently benefiting from fragmented, uncoordinated VA purchasing — including those collecting fees for unused or duplicate licenses — could see reduced revenue. VA employees whose current procurement autonomy would be constrained by new CIO coordination requirements. Individual VA program offices that may lose flexibility in acquiring software tools independently. Contractors currently providing inventory or entitlement reconciliation services without conflict-of-interest safeguards may face new scrutiny under the GAO review provision.
Supporters argue
Supporters argue that the federal government — including the VA — has a well-documented history of wasteful software spending. A 2019 GAO report found that federal agencies frequently pay for unused software licenses and lack visibility into their own software inventories, with potential savings in the hundreds of millions of dollars annually. They contend that requiring a centralized inventory, CIO coordination, and regular audits directly addresses these inefficiencies, and that the bill's use-existing-resources constraint ensures fiscal discipline without new bureaucracy.
Opponents argue
Opponents argue that mandating a department-wide software asset management policy without new funding or staffing sets the VA up for an unfunded mandate — the same agency already struggles with IT modernization backlogs and workforce shortages. They contend that the five-year sunset and existing-resources constraint may produce a compliance-on-paper exercise rather than genuine reform, and that without dedicated resources, the annual training, triennial policy reviews, and GAO reporting requirements could divert staff time from direct veteran services without producing meaningful savings.