The House of Representatives has passed the Source Code Harmonization and Reuse in Information Technology Act, which would direct federal agencies to share custom source codes and eliminate duplicative government contracts when building software.
The SHARE IT Act seeks to end wasteful federal spending on redundant software by directing agencies to publicly list their custom codes, allowing them to be reused across the government to save time and money, Rep. Nick Langworthy, R-N.Y., said in a Wednesday press release.
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Safeguarding Sensitive and Classified Data
Langworthy noted that while the proposal promotes information-sharing, it also includes provisions to protect sensitive and classified data, ensuring that U.S. national security and individual privacy are not compromised. In addition, the bill would require agencies to provide sufficient rights allowing the sharing and modification of their custom software codes.
When enacted into federal law, the bill would mandate government agencies’ chief information officers to oversee its implementation. Under the law, the federal CIOs should also submit annual compliance reports to Congress using existing government platforms and private sector options.
Parallel Senate Measure
The Act has a Senate version, which the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee advanced in early 2024, according to Nextgov/FCW. However, the measure has yet to pass through the Senate floor.