(WNY News Now) – In a major victory for taxpayers, President Biden signs the SHARE IT Act into law, aiming to eliminate wasteful federal spending on duplicative software development.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Recently, President Biden signed Congressman Nick Langworthy’s bipartisan Source Code Harmonization and Reuse in Information Technology (SHARE IT) Act (H.R. 9566). This legislation will require federal agencies to share custom-developed source code, eliminating duplicative and costly government contracts to build software. The same bill was led in the U.S. Senate by Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX).
“Each year, the government spends approximately $6 billion on software development, a portion of which funds the creation of custom code for agency-specific programs,” said Congressman Langworthy. “Without a clear mandate for code-sharing, agencies are left operating in silos. This leads to costly duplication, as they pay contractors to recreate solutions that already exist elsewhere within the federal government.”
He continued, “I’m grateful for Senator Cruz’s efforts to pass this initiative in the Senate. The SHARE IT Act becoming law is a win for American taxpayers and the first step toward President Trump’s agenda of making our government more efficient and accountable.”
Specifically, this legislation mandates that agencies share the software they develop or purchase while still protecting sensitive code related to national security, classified information, and individual privacy. Additionally, this bill holds agency Chief Information Officers accountable for overseeing this process and submitting annual compliance reports to Congress, all without the need for additional funding by utilizing existing platforms like code.gov and private sector options.
Senator Cruz said, “American taxpayers deserve government efficiency wherever possible. Congress should take advantage of every opportunity to reduce duplicative spending and boost government transparency in procurement. I am proud to have worked with Chairman Peters and Rep. Langworthy to advance the SHARE IT Act and bring greater fiscal responsibility and accountability to the federal government’s information technology needs.”
President Biden signed this measure into law on December 23, 2024.
Read the full text of the bill here.
Congressman Nick Langworthy represents the 23rd Congressional District of New York, including Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Chemung, Schuyler, and Steuben County, as well as parts of Erie County. Visit langworthy.house.gov.
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