6 2. EXPLANATION OF CHANGES SHOWN ON SCHEDULE C FOR THE OFFICE OF TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT | 6. Worker's compensation claims for FY '86 are to be paid in FY '88. | B. PRICE LEVEL CHANGES | 1. Travel related inflation rates of 7% applied to FY '87 | 2. Transportation services inflation rate of 4.1% applied to FY '87 base. | 3. Building lease rate increase for office, storage, and parking | 4. Copier services inflation rate of 4.1% applied to FY '87 base. | 5, Telephone services inflation rate of 4.1% applied to FY '87 base for WATS service only. | 6. Miscellaneous rent and communication inflation rate of 4.1%, applied to FY '87 base, including ADP equipment. | 7. Printing and supplies inflation rate of 4% (according to GPO | 8. Estimated facilities management wage determination increases or merit increases averaging 5% applied to FY '87 base (based on | Staff | Amount ($000) 560 288 72 64 1 21 5 544 5 23 1 EXPLANATION OF CHANGES SHOWN ON SCHEDULE C 9. Anticipated increase in cost of contract with Library of Congress for accounting and financial services. 110. Other services inflation rate of 4.1% applied to FY <87 base for research contracts and purchase orders. 11. Supplies and materials inflation rate of 6.1X applied to FY 157 base. |12. Recurring equipment (furniture, permanent books, etc.) inflation rate applied to FY '87 base minus ADP equipment, which is nonrecurring. IC. PROGRAM TYPE CHANGES | 1. Legislation | 2. Workload | 2a. Requested six senior level staff positions averaging 50K each. | 2b. Associated benefits at 36% for new hires that are automatically under FERS. | 2c. Increased travel associated with increased assessments, special responses, follow-on reports, and new staff positions. | 2d. Increased usage of U.S. Postal Service (associated with increased assessments, special responses, follow-on reports, and new staff positions). | 2e. Increased printing associated with assessments, special responses, and follow-on reports. | 2f. Increased contracting services (panel meetings, panelist travel, workshops, research contracts, purchase orders) associated with increased assessments, special responses, and follow-on reports (138) and associated with the requested senior level positions averaging 100K per position (600K). | 2g. Increased supplies and materials, including scientific and technical journals, and other publications (2K) and software upgrades (25K). | 3. Equipment, Alterations, Maintenance, Repairs, Etc. | 38. Replacement and upgrade of worn out and/or obsolete ADP equipment. | | 3b. Savings on line charges and set maintenance due to the a 9 4. Overview of OTA's Role One of the most important lessons of business – that there is no free lunch - is also true of technology. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said over a century ago, "Nature never gives anything to anyone; everything is sold. It is only in the ideals of abstraction that choice comes without consequence." OTA's mission is to help Congress weigh the "good and bads" of technology understand the nature and extent of technological opportunities and how to reduce their risks and unwanted impacts. - to Most issues facing the nation - from national security and national health goals, to international competitiveness and domestic physical infrastructure - include technological components. The need for an agency that can help Congress anticipate and understand technical issues has certainly not diminished in the 14 years since OTA was created. OTA identifies alternative means of accommodation to the impacts – good and bad of technology-driven change. While OTA serves the whole Congress, its principal link is through the Committees of both chambers. The agency is governed by a bipartisan, bicameral Congressional Technology Assessment Board. Studies are carried out in response to Committee requests. OTA emphasizes extensive use of experts and information drawn from a broad array of sources inside and outside government. Because it has a small but highly trained professional staff, OTA is able to analyze and integrate this information and then deliver it in a variety of ways to Congress. 5. OTA's Accomplishments During Fiscal Year 1986 During FY 1986, OTA published 18 full assessment reports and 8 special reports. OTA also delivered, in FY 1986, 5 Technical Memoranda and 7 Background Papers (including one Case Study). (See pages 85-98.) As of September 30, 1986, 31 assessments were in progress; 3 were in press or under TAB review. As an integral part of carrying out assessments, OTA also provides, during the course of a project as well as after its delivery, expert advice, briefings, testimony, and results of OTA assessments to Committees in ways matched to their specific needs and the Congressional agenda. (See pages 139– 156.) ... The reports represent comprehensive synthesis and analysis on some of the most controversial and costly issues faced by Congress covering, for example, hazardous waste reduction and management, international technology transfer, the future of American agriculture, the technology for defensive weapons, health care cost containment, and the future of biotechnology. These studies directly reflect the expressed needs and priorities of Committees of House and Senate. During the year, OTA delivered services to over 80 different Committees and Subcommittees of both houses, typically in response 10 - · Relation of Work to Legislative Activities OTA's role is neither to promote nor to discourage development or application of any particular technology but rather to help determine whether or when some form of Federal government participation may make sense. OTA helps identify and clarify options; exposes misleading and incorrect information; and helps raise the level of understanding in the debate about expensive and controversial technical issues. In each section on divisional accomplishments, we identify some activities during fiscal years 1986 and 1987 to date that illustrate the link between OTA's work and Congressional activity. Please see the following pages for this information: Energy, Materials, and International Security Division ..... Industry, Technology, and Employment Health and Life Sciences Division Biological Applications Food and Renewable Resources Health Science, Information, and Natural Resources Division Oceans and Environment Science, Education, and Transportation.. Mandated Activities page 36 38 39 52 53 54 67 68 69 Over the past several years, OTA has undertaken several projects as a result of legislative mandates. The first of these projects was our ongoing activity, Monitoring of Mandated Vietnam Veteran Studies (mandated by P.L. 96-151). OTA's work in this area led to additional mandates: P.L. 98-160 requires that OTA monitor certain federal research activities with regard to veterans exposed to atomic radiation; P.L. 99-272 requires that OTA monitor certain federal research activities with regard to women veterans. There have recently been mandates for full assessments also. In FY 1986, OTA delivered an assessment, Payment for Physician Services, that was mandated by P.L. 98-369. OTA's ongoing assessment of the Strategic Defense Initiative was mandated by P.L. 99-190. OTA has also been assigned the task of appointing health-related commissions. Most recently, P.L. 99-660 mandated the OTA Director to appoint a citizens' Advisory Panel on Alzheimer's Disease. This mandate does not include any reporting requirements for OTA. However, OTA is required to appoint and monitor the activities of two additional commissions: Prospective Payment Assessment Commission The Commission is an independent advisory Committee mandated under the "Social Security Amendments of 1983" (Public Law 98-21, Section 601) that |