Matt Cartwright

Madam Speaker, I rise today to address my colleagues here on the House floor one last time and to express my heartfelt gratitude for what has been the greatest honor of my lifetime.

Twelve years ago, I was sent here to Washington to represent the people of northeastern Pennsylvania, a region defined by its natural beauty, rich industrial heritage, and honest, hardworking residents.

When I was elected, I vowed to be an effective legislator, somebody who would put aside party politics and work across the aisle to pass legislation meaningful to the lives not just of my constituents back home but of all Americans, and I did that.

In my 12 years here, I have had fully 16 bills, pieces of substantive legislation passed into law by the past three Presidents. These are laws that are actively protecting our Nation's veterans, preserving our environment, reducing government waste, and helping government work more efficiently.

I have also worked to restore passenger rail between Scranton, Pennsylvania, and New York City. After more than 12 years of hard work, we are finally on the cusp of seeing that come true, thanks in large part to the passage of the bipartisan infrastructure law we passed last Congress.

I seek to give credit to my outstanding staff, including former members of Team Cartwright, who are amazing people who worked so hard.

To my district staff, former State Senator John Blake, Bob Morgan, April Niver, Tammy Aita, Colleen Gerrity, Jonas Crass, Christa Mecadon, Wendy Wilson, Lee Anne Pugliese, Len Namiotka, Tyler McAlpine, Michael Marsyada, Sabrina McLaughlin, Anne Lauritzen, and Chris Garza; and to my staff here in D.C., my formidable Chief of Staff Hunter Ridgway, Rachel Cohen, Kaylee Robinson, Jeremy Marcus, Stephen Coffey, Samuel Negatu, Karina Hull, RT Rogers, Laura Masterton, Lily Fortsch, Aliza Oppenheim, Daniela Amodei, Anna Mason, Jacob Feit, and Casey Wilson, your work has directly touched the lives of so many in our district and America.

A thank-you is also in order for the outstanding staff on the Appropriations Committee who worked for me. Clerk Bob Bonner and staff members Shannon McCully, Faye Cobb, Nora Faye, and Jamie Wise have been so valuable to me during my time as chair and ranking member of the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee.

None of my work or success would have been possible without the unending support of my family: my sons, Jack and Matty, and their partners, Dr. Tim DeVita and Dr. Celeste Pallone; the wonderful support from the whole family; and my rock, my North Star, my wonderful wife, attorney Marion Munley Cartwright. I thank her for letting me go on this 12-year junket. It has been a real party.

Madam Speaker, this is the United States Congress. When you make it here, you have made it to the major leagues of world politics.

I have seen it all here in 12 years. I have seen stupendous skullduggery and treachery, and I have observed Olympic-caliber levels of obsequiousness, but I have also served with the best people I have ever met in my life.

These are people whom you look up to, people whom you admire, and men and women whom you would do anything for. Your only regret is that you didn't know them your entire life. It has been my honor to serve alongside them.

In the darkling predawn light of a spring day in May 1775, when Ethan Allen attacked the British garrison at Fort Ticonderoga at the beginning of the American Revolution, he demanded that the British surrender the fort in the name of the great God Jehovah and the Continental Congress.

I am here to say that I have gotten to know the latter. It has been my honor to serve in the latter and to get to know the latter, and now I am off in search of the former.

Mr. Speaker, today I recognize the remarkable three decades that my constituent, Christine French Cully, served as an editor, editor in chief, executive vice president, chief purpose officer, and brand ambassador at Highlights for Children, Inc., as edited in Honesdale, Pennsylvania.

Chris Cully contributed immeasurably to the success and growth of Highlights, as well as to the public esteem of the brand, by her wise decisions and extensive contributions to the Highlights editorial and business departments. She maintained the highest level of quality in her own work, serving as an advocate for children and keeping their best interests in mind throughout her career. She dedicated herself to helping millions of children become their best selves--curious, creative, caring, and confident--and personally answered thousands of their letters and emails, some of which have been compiled into her book, Dear Highlights: What Adults Can Learn from 75 Years of Letters and Conversations with Kids.

Chris' foresight, vision, and deep understanding of the goals and philosophy of Highlights magazine helped her oversee the expansion of the way the company served children, reaching to include a wide range of communications realms, including digital formats, licensing partnerships, international initiatives, products to support parents and teachers, and a robust presence in other media, including podcasts and videos.

Chris always labored to elevate and unify the children's publishing industry through her founding and hosting of annual retreats for magazine editors and through her personal and professional support of the Highlights Foundation and its workshops at the Chautauqua Institution as well as at its Boyds Mills campus. She also dedicated her time and energy in service to our region of the state through organizations such as Girl Scouts in the Heart of Pennsylvania, Habitat for Humanity, and St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital.

Time and time again, Chris proved herself to be a masterful participant at functions and events of import to the community. She gave speeches and workshops, and she was regularly interviewed for national news media. She truly lived her cause and commitment. I am proud to express my heartfelt appreciation for her life's work and enduring legacy.

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate this opportunity to speak about my bill, H.R. 1695, the SAMOSA Act, the Strengthening Agency Management and Oversight of Software Assets Act.

It is a signal mission, Chairman Comer, Ranking Member Raskin. It is a signal mission of the Oversight Committee to root out waste, fraud, and abuse and to take measures to correct such waste of money of the American taxpayers.

This legislation would require all Federal agencies to conduct a comprehensive assessment of their current software assets and restructure their operations to reduce unnecessary costs.

The U.S. Government is the largest single software customer in the world. Our Federal Government spends billions of taxpayer dollars every year on software licenses alone. Most of these software license purchases are purposeful, but some are redundant, duplicative, and simply unnecessary.

GAO reports have called out duplicative IT purchases and concluded that better tracking and inventory systems are necessary to avoid unnecessary purchases. Current software procurement processes lack transparency about what software assets are purchased and which ones are deployed by Federal agencies. In fact, many of the government software audits are done by the software vendors themselves. That is a stunning oversight.

Additionally, rigid software licensing agreements restrict vendor competition and prevent Federal agencies from accessing more cost- effective options.

Congress took a step to improve oversight of the Federal Government software assets purchases when my bill, the MEGABYTE Act that Ranking Member Raskin just mentioned, passed the House and was signed into law in 2016. I had the help of Republican Congressman Steve Russell from Oklahoma City, a fellow House Committee on Oversight and Reform member, on that.

The MEGABYTE Act directed agencies to maintain an inventory of software licenses and has saved American taxpayers over $450 million. H.R. 1695, the SAMOSA Act, builds on the MEGABYTE Act's success by requiring independent assessment of software license management practices and contracts.

This bill would also require chief information officers to develop plans to improve negotiating power against software vendors by requiring all Federal agencies to better track their software purchases. This commonsense bill would reduce waste, strengthen cybersecurity, and modernize government operations.

The Strengthening Agency Management and Oversight of Software Assets

Act, the SAMOSA Act, symbolizes good governance, and it is a commonsense, bipartisan solution.

Again, I thank Oversight Committee Chair Comer and Ranking Member Raskin for their support of my bill. I thank Senators Peters and Cassidy, both former House Members, for leading this measure in the United States Senate.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' and encourage swift passage of the SAMOSA Act through the Senate.