VA, like many other agencies across the federal government, has faced challenges overseeing its software licenses in recent years. The Government Accountability Office included agencies’ management of software licenses on its recent high-risk list published in February, with watchdog officials similarly identifying concerns about VA’s ability to track and review purchased software licenses.
During a House Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee on Technology Modernization hearing, GAO’s Director of Information Technology and Cybersecurity Issues Carol Harris said previous reviews of the agency found, in part, that VA officials “could not demonstrate that they were tracking the appropriate number of licenses for each item of software currently in use.”
Harris noted that VA plans to spend $985 million in fiscal year 2025 on software, which includes commercial software licenses.
In March, Federal Chief Information Officer Gregory Barbaccia asked agencies to provide him with inventories of their licenses with the five software vendors earning the most from federal contracts, along with a “full inventory of all software licenses and associated contracts,” according to reporting from FedScoop.
Rep. Tom Barrett, R-Mich., who chairs the House panel, said he reviewed VA’s response and “for tens of millions of dollars’ worth of licenses, VA wrote that the license usage and quantities were ‘unknown.’”
Barrett also noted that VA was supposed to submit its full inventory of software licenses by the end of April but said “I still haven’t seen it ..
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