Technology Assessment in Congress: History and Legislative Options

Abstract

Congress created the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) in 1972, P.L. 92-484, and terminated its funding in 1995. The pros and cons of reviving OTA or recreating a similar body have been examined. Since 2002, at congressional direction, the Government Accountability Office (GAO, formerly the General Accounting Office) conducted two pilot technology assessments and is completing two others. Legislation was proposed during the 108th Congress to restore OTA's funding (H.R. 125); create an entity to conduct assessments for Congress (H.R. 6 as passed in the Senate); conduct technology assessments in GAO (report language on H.R. 2657, H.R. 4755, and S. 2666); and create a technology assessment capability in GAO (S. 2556) or under its direction (H.R. 4670). Policy issues under discussion include the need for assessments, funding, the utility of GAO's technology assessment-related reports, and options for institutional arrangements. This report will be updated as needed.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 20, 2005
Accession Number
ADA465379

Entities

People

  • Genevieve J. Knezo

Organizations

  • Library of Congress

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Cyber

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Border Security
  • Civil Rights
  • Climate Change
  • Comptrollers
  • Congress
  • Contracts
  • Energy Security
  • Governments
  • Homeland Security
  • Language
  • Law
  • National Governments
  • Port Security
  • Security
  • Technology Assessment
  • United States Government

Fields of Study

  • Political science

Readers

  • Defense Financial Management and Audit.
  • Defense Technology Research and Development.
  • Mathematics or Statistics