roundtable: OTA Backgrounder

roundtable: OTA Backgrounder

OTA Backgrounder

Richard Civille (rciville@civicnet.org)
Thu, 03 Aug 1995 16:11:27 -0400 

Message-Id: <199508032022.QAA16332@clark.net>
Date: Thu, 03 Aug 1995 16:11:27 -0400
From: rciville@civicnet.org (Richard Civille)
Subject: OTA Backgrounder


Congress Set to Kill Office of Technology Assessment

Since the late 1970s the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment 
(OTA) has provided bi-partisan policy analysis on technical subjects 
as diverse as deep-ocean mining, biotechnology, distance learning and 
electronic delivery of government services. The 180 person organization 
has been targeted for elimination by October, 1995. A victim of a late 
July vote on an appropriation bill that provides funds for Congressional 
operations, OTA narrowly avoided an abrupt shutdown but will be able to 
complete its current projects. Without the OTA, Congress must now rely 
more heavily on industry or special interest analyses of social and 
economic policy shaped by rapid changes in technology.

Several years ago, the Office undertook several studies which used the
Internet to broaden public participation in its research. Most notably, 
a study on the electronic delivery of government services used many of 
the Free-Nets, a system of community networks around the country, to 
conduct on-line focus groups to gather comments and public opinion on 
how the government could operate more efficiently and serve the public 
more effectively. While outside the normal OTA process of working with 
advisory groups flown into Washington, DC, the experments demonstrated 
the usefullness of the Internet in reaching a broader audience in 
conducting its studies. Some staff analysts felt that the Internet 
could replace much of the travel and administrative costs of this 
advisory process, while greatly increasing the range of general public 
and expert opinion it has sought.

OTA officials believe that because of the process efficiencies the 
Internet can bring to their research, substantial program cuts could 
be sustained without crippling the agency.  An operating budget of 
only $12 million dollars a year -- half of current spending -- would 
enable the Office to continue its work, while it broadens its use of 
the Internet and solicits input through community networks and other 
public access initiatives around the country. Ironically, six million 
dollars were appropriated to close the Office down in an orderly 
fashion.

OTA funding was the subject of an hour long floor debate in the House, 
which orginally voted to continue the agency with a funding cut from 
$22 million to $15 million. However, when the appropriations bill was 
referred back to committee, the agency was eliminated. In the coming 
days, the House will vote on a conference committee report on the bill, 
which would either approve the legislation for the President's signature, 
or send the bill back to the committee for further work.

OTA supporters have expressed guarded optimism that because the agency
received strong bi-partisan support on the House floor, there remains 
the chance that an additional six million dollars could be found to 
continue operations.
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  Center for Civic Networking                      Richard Civille
  P.O. Box 53152                                   Executive Director
  Washington, D.C.  20009
  (202) 362-3831                                   rciville@civicnet.org
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