No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section establishes a Department-wide software asset management policy for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), to be developed by the Chief Information Officer (CIO) in coordination with other officials. The policy must, at a minimum, (1) maintain a comprehensive inventory of software assets (including software licenses required under the MEGABYTE Act of 2016 and all other software assets, subscriptions, deployments, and entitlements); (2) assess interoperability and license restrictions; (3) identify and eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse (e.g., by comparing inventory against purchase, subscription, billing, and contract records); (4) require CIO coordination on significant software acquisitions; (5) adopt cost-effective licensing strategies (e.g., enterprise-wide agreements); and (6) measure and enforce license compliance. The CIO must review and update the policy at least every three years (in consultation with the Chief Financial Officer and others); provide annual training to relevant employees on contract negotiation, software acquisition types, and licensing models; implement using existing resources (with no new appropriations, programs, or entities); and include annual reports to Congress on policy updates and estimated cost savings. The section sunsets five years after enactment of the VAMOSA Act and directs the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to report to congressional Veterans' Affairs Committees three years after enactment on VA implementation, cost savings and reduced duplication, and contractor independence in inventory and reconciliation tasks.