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Sen. Peters believes the time is right for SAMOSA

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2 months ago

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A bipartisan group of Senators are trying to get ahead of the legislative clock and push through a software management bill that potentially could lead to billions of dollars in savings across the government.

Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), ranking member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, will reintroduce the Strengthening Agency Management and Oversight of Software Assets (SAMOSA) Act today — Federal News Network has learned. Peters is the lead sponsor along with fellow HSGAC members Sens. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), and James Lankford (R-Okla.), as well as Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.).

Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) is reintroducing the Strengthening Agency Management and Oversight of Software Assets (SAMOSA) Act. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis, File)

The Senate ran out of time to act on SAMSOA last session, after the House passed it in December. But Peters, who is retiring from the Senate at the end of his current term in 2026, is seeking to get started earlier on this bill as part of his effort to further cement his legacy as a lawmaker that championed federal IT reforms and cost savings.

“By improving how the federal government tracks and manages software purchases, this bipartisan bill will help save taxpayer dollars, strengthen cybersecurity, and promote innovative government operations,” Peters said. “This commonsense approach ensures agencies can make needed upgrades to better serve the American people while reducing wasteful spending.”

The latest version of SAMOSA mirrors the Senate bill the committee passed in May 2023. It also is similar to the House version introduced in March by Reps. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), the late Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), and several other lawmakers.

“The issues SAMOSA addresses are still a challenge. The text of the bill hasn’t changed from what passed the committee in 2023, but even two years later, the Government Accountability Office continues to find reasons why Sen. Peters wrote the bill in the first place and agencies need to address them,” said a HSGAC aide. “SAMOSA puts into place a repeatable process that goes beyond wielding a chainsaw at the immediate moment. The process has to be in place from CIO to CIO and from administration to administration and that becomes the way agencies do business to understand what software they bought and why.”

Bigger savings opportunity than MEGABYTE Act

A second aide to HSGAC said Peters believes SAOMSA could help save agencies an estimated $750 million a year in how they manage and procure software.

The aide added SAMOSA, which is a follow up to and builds on the Making Electronic Government (MEGABYTE) Act, is asking agencies to capture costs that have never been calculated, particularly around the underlying infrastructure needed to support the software they are acquiring. GAO estimated agencies saved more than $3 billion since 2019 under the MEGABYTE Act.

“We just don’t know how much more agencies save because this data never been obtained,” the aide said.
The aide said GAO’s recent testimony on software licensing at the Veterans Affairs Department is a good example of the continued challenges and where SAMOSA would help.

GAO found, “VA was not tracking the appropriate number of licenses for each item of software currently in use. Additionally, the department did not compare inventories of software licenses that were currently in use to purchase records on a regular basis.”

SAMOSA would require agencies to take several steps to address these and other ongoing problems GAO has highlighted over the years.

The agency chief information officer, CFO, chief acquisition officer and chief data officer must work together to develop a software inventory that includes a comprehensive assessment of the software paid for by or deployed throughout the agency through contracts or other agreements as well as those developed by the agency.

The inventory also should include information on any additional fees or costs, including those for using cloud services, that are not included in the initial costs of the contract. The costs and fees include those associated with future software updates.

Additionally, the analysis should list of any provisions in the software that may restrict how the agency can deploy or use the software, including any restrictions on desktop or server hardware, through a cloud service provider, or on data ownership or access.

Agencies would have more control

The legislation then calls on agency leaders to use the inventory to consolidate software titles and licenses, cut any unnecessary costs and restrict bureaus or offices from buying new software licenses without the approval of the agency’s CIO.

“The dynamic SAMOSA is trying to correct is the vendors sales machine vs. agency buyers. Industry has more resources, sales people and marketing dollars than any single cadre of agency contracting officers, and the incentives for sales people to sell is too great,” said a former administration official who worked on software management issues. “Agencies are unable to get information, data and visibility across everything they own to make rational decisions to reduce cost and drive performance to meet and sustain the mission. If the work of SAMOSA is done properly and thoroughly, that dynamic will shift in the agency’s favor to make smarter buying decisions now and in the long run.”

A former administration official said there may be no better time for SAMOSA to get over the finish line.

“There is a much greater focus across many more parts of the executive branch on this issue. There are very few issues that can get bi-partisan support across Congress and administration and this is right in the middle of that,” the former official said. “What DOGE has done around software licenses is checkers, but what SAMOSA wants to do is chess. It will establish a far more long lasting process of reconciliation, management and oversight of software.”

The U.S. DOGE Service has been focusing on reducing the number of software licenses across government over the last five months.

On May 30, DOGE posted on “X” that, “Agencies often have more software licenses than employees, and the licenses are often idle (i.e. paid for, but not installed on any computer). These audits have been continuously run since first posted in February.”

DOGE said most recently, the IRS had 3,000 Visio licenses and were only using only 25. It says the agency cut the remaining 99%.

The Labor Department cut 68% of unused “project planning” software licenses

The Securities and Exchange Commission was only using 22% of their remote desktop software and cut the remaining 78%.

“These 3 changes alone, a small portion of the total, saved more than $5 million a year,” DOGE said on “X.”

Additionally, the General Services Administration has been pursuing enterprisewide software licenses. It has agreed to four so far with Microsoft, Google, Adobe and Salesforce.

One of several bills in the works

The HSGAC aide said Peters and other sponsors feel good about SAMOSA passing this year, whether as a stand alone bill or as part of another piece of legislation like the Defense authorization bill.

“This is a priority for Sen. Peters. The key is for the chairman [Sen. Rand Paul] to schedule a markup. We have a markup that was postponed that still has to happen. We hope for the next one this bill will be in contention,” the aide said. “The bill passed unanimously last time and we hope for similar outcomes this time.”

The former administration official also is confident that SAMOSA will pass, especially given the focus by

the Trump administration on improving software procurement and finding savings.
The aide added Peters also is looking to sponsor or co-sponsor several other technology related bills in the coming months.

Peters and Lankford introduced the Streamlining Federal Cybersecurity Regulations Act last week to address overlapping and contradictory compliance requirements that the lawmakers say hinder effective cybersecurity efforts and create unnecessary burdens for critical infrastructure owners and operators.

Additionally, Peters co-sponsored the MGT Reform Act last year and expects to be part of the Senate’s version this year. Mace introduced the House bill in April.

Peters also is expected to introduce the Transparent Automated Governance Act (TAG Act) again in the coming weeks. This bill would require agencies to provide more transparency around the use of artificial intelligence. He also is looking to bring the Prepared for AI Act, a related measure.

The post Sen. Peters believes the time is right for SAMOSA first appeared on Federal News Network.

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Judge Subramanian DENIES Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Bail for the Fifth Time – Disgraced Rapper Will Remain in Prison Pending His October 3rd Sentencing

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14 hours ago

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August 5, 2025

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Judge Subramanian: no “exceptional reasons” to release Diddy before sentencing.

Recent Judge Subramanian’s decisions may indicate hard times for Diddy come sentencing.

We have been following the pre-sentencing motions in the high-profile criminal trial of rap mogul Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs.

The defense: ‘Sean Diddy’s Combs’ Conviction Is Racist and Sexist’, Say Disgraced Rapper’s Lawyers on Yet Another Legal Filing Trying to Release Him on Bail Pending Sentencing

The Prosecution: Prosecutors Oppose Sean Diddy Combs’ 50M Bail Package, Ask for ‘Substantially Higher’ Sentence Than Before

Look who appeared: Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Trial: Ex-girlfirend Who Disappeared and Did Not Testify Against Rapper as ‘Victim 3’ Now Writes Letter to Judge to Grant Him Pre-sentencing Bail

Diddy has had his request for bail denied for the 5th time.

Today, we learn that federal judge Subramanian has yet again declined to grant Sean “Diddy” Combs bail, saying he found no ‘exceptional reasons’ to release him pending his October sentencing.

ABC News reported:

“Combs was convicted of transportation to engage in prostitution, which the judge said mandates incarceration. His sentencing is set for Oct. 3.

Judge Arun Subramanian said Combs remains a risk of flight and a danger to the community, pointing to the violence exhibited on 2016 hotel surveillance footage that shows him kicking and dragging Cassie Ventura.”

Combs remains a risk of flight and a danger to the community: Judge.

The judge ruled that the ‘swinger lifestyle’ argument does not fly in a case that includes ‘evidence of violence, coercion or subjugation in connection with the prostitution’. And the record, he wrote, contains evidence of all three.

Subramanian: “’While Combs may contend at sentencing that this evidence should be discounted and that what happened was nothing more than a case of willing ‘swingers’ utilizing the voluntary services of escorts for their mutual pleasure, the Government takes the opposite view: that Cassie Ventura and Jane were beaten, coerced, threatened, lied to, and victimized by Combs as part of their participation in these’.”

Read more:

As He Awaits Sentencing in Prison, Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Joins ‘Self-Improvement’ Program To Curb Drug Use and Violence Against Women

The post Judge Subramanian DENIES Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Bail for the Fifth Time – Disgraced Rapper Will Remain in Prison Pending His October 3rd Sentencing appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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Nearly 78,000 New Applicants Flood ICE Recruitment to Help Crack Down on Illegal Immigration (VIDEO)

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14 hours ago

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August 5, 2025

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In a scorching new development under the Trump-backed ICE reign, Acting Director Todd Lyons confidently announced that “we have almost 78,000 applicants since we opened up,” referring to the agency’s massive recruitment surge launched just one week prior.

This seismic surge in interest aligns with ICE’s newly launched “Defend the Homeland” recruitment blitz, unveiled by the Department of Homeland Security on July 29, 2025.

ICE is budgeting for 10,000 new agents, dangling $50,000 signing bonuses, student‑loan forgiveness, enhanced overtime pay, and upgraded retirement plans to attract recruits.

According to the press release:

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) today launched a new U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) campaign to recruit brave and heroic Americans to join ICE as federal law enforcement agents and remove the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens from America’s streets.

“Your country is calling you to serve at ICE. In the wake of the Biden administration’s failed immigration policies, your country needs dedicated men and women of ICE to get the worst of the worst criminals out of our country,” said Secretary Kristi Noem. “This is a defining moment in our nation’s history. Your skills, your experience, and your courage have never been more essential. Together, we must defend the homeland.”

To support this effort, ICE is offering a robust package of federal law enforcement incentives, including: 

  • A maximum $50,000 signing bonus
  • Student loan repayment and forgiveness options
  • 25% Law Enforcement Availability Pay (LEAP) for HSI Special Agents
  • Administratively Uncontrollable Overtime (AUI) for Enforcement Removal Operations (ERO) Deportation Officers
  • Enhanced retirement benefits

Backed by significant new funding through the recently signed One Big Beautiful Bill, ICE is rolling out patriotic recruitment posters and benefits to attract the next generation of law enforcement professionals to find, arrest, and remove criminal illegal aliens.

During the Fox interview, Todd Lyons delivered the incredible news.

“We have almost 78,000 applicants since we opened up. We’re going through and finding those people who really want to serve the country and truly be in law enforcement. I think it’s a great way to recruit now.

We’re taking back our re-hired annuitants — people who left the job early because they weren’t allowed to do the law enforcement mission.

But we have so many people who are now interested in working with ICE because, under Secretary Nome’s leadership, they’re seeing that we have a viable law enforcement partner in the community. You’re actually out making a difference. We’re really ecstatic about seeing the increase in new recruits who are applying.”

WATCH:

The post Nearly 78,000 New Applicants Flood ICE Recruitment to Help Crack Down on Illegal Immigration (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene Calls on Trump to Commute George Santos’ Excessive 7-Year-Sentence: ‘Some Members of Congress Who’ve Done Far Worse Still Walk Free’

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14 hours ago

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August 5, 2025

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Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R‑GA) has formally thrown down the gauntlet.

On Monday, she submitted a letter to the Office of the Pardon Attorney pleading for President Trump to commute the 87-month federal sentence of ex‑Congressman George Santos (NY‑03)—a punishment she calls “a grave injustice” and emblematic of a justice system fractured by politically selective persecution.

Greene wrote on X:

“BREAKING: I just sent a letter to the Office of the Pardon Attorney urging President Trump to commute the sentence of former Congressman @MrSantosNY.

A 7‑year prison sentence for campaign‑related charges is excessive, especially when Members of Congress who’ve done far worse still walk free.

George Santos has taken responsibility. He’s shown remorse. It’s time to correct this injustice. We must demand equal justice under the law!”

Greene signed her letter Aug. 4 to Pardon Attorney Edward Martin Jr. at the Justice Department, demanding Trump use his executive power to undo what she calls a “grave injustice.”

Drawing on inside knowledge, she described Santos as “without a prior criminal record,” “sincerely remorseful,” and portrayed his case as campaign-related maleficence, nothing warranting “one of the most extreme sentences in recent history.”

Green also reminded officials of the roster of current or former lawmakers who actually broke laws or ethics rules yet never lost a day.

The letter reads:

“I am writing to request that your office urge the President to commute the sentence of former Congressman George Santos. In April 2025, Mr. Santos was sentenced to 87 months in federal prison for wire fraud and aggravated identity theft charges. I wholeheartedly believe in justice and the rule of the law, and I understand the gravity of such actions. However, I believe a seven-year sentence for such campaign-related matters for an individual with no prior criminal record extends far beyond what is warranted.

As a Member of Congress, I worked with Mr. Santos on many issues and can attest to his willingness and dedication to serve the people of New York who elected him to office. He committed himself to serving his constituents and did whatever it took to represent their interests in Washington, D.C. He is sincerely remorseful and has accepted full responsibility for his actions. Furthermore, my office has spoken with a pastor of his who discussed the regret and remorse of Mr. Santos, agreeing that the sentence imposed is a grave injustice.

While his crimes warrant punishment, many of my colleagues who I serve with have committed far worse offenses than Mr. Santos yet have faced zero criminal charges. I strongly believe in accountability for one’s actions, but I believe the sentencing of Mr. Santos is an abusive overreach by the judicial system.

Commuting his sentence would acknowledge the severity of his actions and simultaneously provide a path forward in allowing him to make amends for his crimes and strive to better serve the people in his community.

I respectfully request you to urge the President to commute the sentence of Mr. George Santos.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.”

According to the Advocate, Trump can pardon Santos, but has not been asked about it.

The Advocate reported:

“He lied like hell, and I didn’t know him,” Trump told Newsmax host Rob Finnerty during an interview at the White House. “But he was 100 percent for Trump. I might’ve met him. Maybe, maybe not, but he was a congressman and his vote was solid.”

[…]

In the Newsmax interview, Trump seemed to question the severity of Santos’s sentence. “It sounds like a lot,” he said. “Is it seven years he just went away? It’s a long time.”

Trump went on to say that while he hadn’t been approached about pardoning Santos, the door remained open. “Nobody’s talked to me about it,” he said. “They really haven’t talked to me about [Santos]. They have talked to me about Sean [Combs], but they haven’t talked to me about [George]. But again, with him, I have the right to do it. Nobody’s asked me, but it’s interesting.”

In April, U.S. District Judge Joanna Seybert sentenced Santos to 87 months in federal prison for wire fraud and aggravated identity theft after a guilty plea in August 2024.

Those charges stemmed from fabricating donor names, laundering campaign funds, misusing donor money, and claiming unemployment while campaigning.

Santos took to social media earlier this year to criticize the ruling and pleaded with President Trump for leniency.

He wrote:

This is the hardest statement I have ever written. I write this humbled, chastened, and fully accountable for choices that shattered the faith so many placed in me.

I betrayed the confidence entrusted to me by many. For that, I offer my deepest apology.

When I pled guilty, I did so without reservation. I said then, and I repeat now, that my conduct betrayed my supporters and diminished the institution I was privileged to serve. Those words have weighed on me every day since.

I cannot rewrite the past, but I can control the road ahead. I asked the Court for a sentence that balances accountability with the chance to prove through sustained, measurable action that I can still contribute positively to the community I wronged.

I believe that 7 years is an over the top politically influenced sentence and I implore that President Trump gives me a chance to prove I’m more than the mistakes I’ve made.

Before the sentencing, Santos had slammed federal prosecutors for going easy on violent criminals while trying to make an example out of him.

“I will however remind everyone that they want me to go to prison for 87 months while they let sex traffickers walk freely, they give drug lords slaps on the wrist and most importantly refuse to prosecute the cabal of pedophiles running around in every power structure in the world including the US Government,” he wrote on X.

The post Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene Calls on Trump to Commute George Santos’ Excessive 7-Year-Sentence: ‘Some Members of Congress Who’ve Done Far Worse Still Walk Free’ appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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