To establish an Office of Technology Assessment for the Congress as an aid in the identification and consideration of existing and probable impacts of technological application; to amend the National Science Foundation Act of 1950; and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That this Act may be cited as the Technology Assessment Act of 1972.
FINDINGS AND DECLARATION OF PURPOSE
SEC. 2. The Congress hereby finds and declares that:
(a) As technology continues to change and expand rapidly, its applications are
1. large and growing in scale; and
2. increasingly extensive, pervasive, and critical in their impact, beneficial and adverse, on the natural and social environment.
(b)Therefore, it is essential that, to the fullest extent possible, the consequences of technological applications be anticipated, understood, and considered in determination of public policy on existing and emerging national problems.
(c) The Congress further finds that:
1.the Federal agencies presently responsible directly to the Congress are not designed to provide the legislative branch with adequate and timely information, independently developed, relating to the potential impact of technological applications, and
2.the present mechanisms of the Congress do not and are not designed to provide the legislative branch with such information.
(d) Accordingly, it is necessary for the Congress to
1. equip itself with new and effective means for securing competent, unbiased information concerning the physical, biological, economic, social, and political effects of such applications; and
2. utilize this information, whenever appropriate, as one factor in the legislative assessment of matters pending before the Congress, particularly in those instances where the Federal Government may be called upon to consider support for, or management or regulation of, technological applications.
The Office of Technology Assessment occupied a unique role among the Congressional information agencies. Unlike the General Accounting Office, which is primarily concerned with evaluation of ongoing programs, and the Congressional Research Service, which provides rapid information on legislative topics, OTA provided a deeper, more comprehensive, and more technical level of analysis. Through eleven Congressional sessions, OTA became a key resource for Congressional members and staff confronting technological issues in crafting public policy. Its existence brought a healthy balance to the analytical resources available to the executive and legislative branches of government.
The agency's legacy is found in the many items of legislation it influenced and in the channels of communication its staff helped foster between legislative policymakers and members of the scientific, technical, and business communities. The Office's legacy is also found in its hundreds of publications, gathered for the first time in electronic form at this world wide web site and on the companion set of CD-ROMs, The OTA Legacy, 1972-1995.
This site contains all the formally issued reports of the Office of Technology Assessment, as well as many background papers and contractor papers--over 100,000 pages of the best available analyses of the scientific and technical policy issues of the past two decades. In addition, the links [contained within] lead to information about how OTA prepared the reports, and to supplemental historical materials that illuminate the history and impact of the agency, which has been widely imitated internationally by governments interested in wise and informed stewardship of the public trust on issues with technical complexity. The OTA reports collected here are widely acknowledged to be nonpartisan, objective, and thorough. In many cases, they have also proven to be of enduring interest and relevance. By publishing its written legacy in electronic form, the Office of Technology Assessment hopes to preserve the investment made in its work for future users.
See: https://www.princeton.edu/~ota/ns20/act_f.html
Office of Technology Assessment Act
Public Law 92-484
92d Congress, H.R. 10243
October 13, 1972
An Act
To establish an Office of Technology Assessment for the Congress as an aid in the identification and consideration of existing and probable impacts of technological application; to amend the National Science Foundation Act of 1950; and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That this Act may be cited as the Technology Assessment Act of 1972.
FINDINGS AND DECLARATION OF PURPOSE
SEC. 2. The Congress hereby finds and declares that:
(a) As technology continues to change and expand rapidly, its applications are
1. large and growing in scale; and
2. increasingly extensive, pervasive, and critical in their impact, beneficial and adverse, on the natural and social environment.
(b)Therefore, it is essential that, to the fullest extent possible, the consequences of technological applications be anticipated, understood, and considered in determination of public policy on existing and emerging national problems.
(c) The Congress further finds that:
1.the Federal agencies presently responsible directly to the Congress are not designed to provide the legislative branch with adequate and timely information, independently developed, relating to the potential impact of technological applications, and
2.the present mechanisms of the Congress do not and are not designed to provide the legislative branch with such information.
(d) Accordingly, it is necessary for the Congress to
1. equip itself with new and effective means for securing competent, unbiased information concerning the physical, biological, economic, social, and political effects of such applications; and
2. utilize this information, whenever appropriate, as one factor in the legislative assessment of matters pending before the Congress, particularly in those instances where the Federal Government may be called upon to consider support for, or management or regulation of, technological applications.
See also:
https://www.princeton.edu/~ota/
The OTA Legacy
https://www.princeton.edu/~ota/ns20/pubs_f.html
OTA Publications
https://www.princeton.edu/~ota/ns20/cong_f.html
OTA and The Work of Congress
The Office of Technology Assessment occupied a unique role among the Congressional information agencies. Unlike the General Accounting Office, which is primarily concerned with evaluation of ongoing programs, and the Congressional Research Service, which provides rapid information on legislative topics, OTA provided a deeper, more comprehensive, and more technical level of analysis. Through eleven Congressional sessions, OTA became a key resource for Congressional members and staff confronting technological issues in crafting public policy. Its existence brought a healthy balance to the analytical resources available to the executive and legislative branches of government.
The agency's legacy is found in the many items of legislation it influenced and in the channels of communication its staff helped foster between legislative policymakers and members of the scientific, technical, and business communities. The Office's legacy is also found in its hundreds of publications, gathered for the first time in electronic form at this world wide web site and on the companion set of CD-ROMs, The OTA Legacy, 1972-1995.
This site contains all the formally issued reports of the Office of Technology Assessment, as well as many background papers and contractor papers--over 100,000 pages of the best available analyses of the scientific and technical policy issues of the past two decades. In addition, the links [contained within] lead to information about how OTA prepared the reports, and to supplemental historical materials that illuminate the history and impact of the agency, which has been widely imitated internationally by governments interested in wise and informed stewardship of the public trust on issues with technical complexity. The OTA reports collected here are widely acknowledged to be nonpartisan, objective, and thorough. In many cases, they have also proven to be of enduring interest and relevance. By publishing its written legacy in electronic form, the Office of Technology Assessment hopes to preserve the investment made in its work for future users.