Science and Technology Advice for CongressThe elimination of the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) in 1995 came during a storm of budget cutting and partisan conflict. Operationally, it left Congress without an institutional arrangement to bring expert scientific and technological advice into the process of legislative decisionmaking. This deficiency has become increasingly critical, as more and more of the decisions faced by Congress and society require judgments based on highly specialized technical information. Offering perspectives from scholars and scientists with diverse academic backgrounds and extensive experience within the policy process, Science and Technology Advice for Congress breaks from the politics of the OTA and its contentious aftermath. Granger Morgan and Jon Peha begin with an overview of the use of technical information in framing policy issues, crafting legislation, and the overall process of governing. They note how, as nonexperts, legislators must make decisions in the face of scientific uncertainty and competing scientific claims from stakeholders. The contributors continue with a discussion of why OTA was created. They draw lessons from OTA's demise, and compare the use of science and technological information in Europe with the United States. The second part of the book responds to requests from congressional leaders for practical solutions. Among the options discussed are expanded functions within existing agencies such as the General Accounting or Congressional Budget Offices; an independent, NGO- administrated analysis group; and a dedicated successor to OTA within Congress. The models emphasize flexibility--and the need to make political feasibility a core component of design. |
Contents
1950 | |
1957 | |
The Origins Accomplishments and Demise of the Office of Technology | |
Insights from the Office of Technology Assessment and Other Assessment | |
The European Experience | |
Thinking about Alternative Models | |
An Expanded Analytical Capability in the Congressional Research Service | |
A Lean Distributed Organization To Serve Congress | |
A Dedicated Organization in Congress | |
An Independent Analysis Group That Works Exclusively for Congress | |
Where Do We Go from Here? | |
The Technology Assessment Act of 1972 | |
Details on the National Academies Complex | |
An External Evaluation of the GAOs First Pilot Technology | |
Index | |
Expanded Use of the National Academies | |
Expanding the Role of the Congressional Science and Engineering Fellowship | |
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104th Congress AAAS Accounting Office activities advice to Congress analysis group analytical Appropriations Act 2000 balanced bicameral biometric biometric technologies bipartisan Board Chapter Committee on Science Congressional Budget Office Congressional Research Service congressional staff congressional support agencies decisionmaking Democrat director discussion effective ensure environmental evaluation executive branch expertise experts federal fellows Fellowship Program function funding Government Printing Office Guston House important institutional Jeffrey K legislative branch mechanism members of Congress National Academy needs NRC study Office of Technology operations organization OTA reports OTA's oversight Parliament performed policy analysis political problem public policy recommendations relevant response role science and technology Science Policy scientific and technical scientists Senate serve stakeholders Stine technical advice Technology Advice Technology Assessment technology issues technology policy think tanks topic U.S. Congress U.S. Government Printing United States Code Washington workshop