Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2017

Floor Speech

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Mr. TAKANO. Madam Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I rise today in support of my amendment, which would restore funding to the Office of Technology Assessment, or OTA. The foundation for good policy is accurate and objective analysis; and for more than two decades, the OTA set that foundation by providing relevant, unbiased technical and scientific assessments for Members of Congress and staff.

In 1995, the OTA was defunded, stripping Congress of a valuable resource to understand both emerging technologies as well as the nuances of the legislative process. In its absence, the need for OTA has only grown. Many of the issues OTA studied 20 years ago are even more pressing today: antibiotic-resistant bacteria, electronic surveillance in the digital age, and testing in America's schools. These are the complex challenges our Nation will continue to face, and Congress should have access to the thorough and insightful analysis OTA can provide.

Investing in the OTA now will actually save us money in the future. In the last year it operated, OTA's budget was $23 million, but its studies on the Synthetics Fuels Corporation saved taxpayers tens of billions of dollars.

Our amendment restores a modest $2.5 million to the OTA account for salaries and expenses to begin rebuilding the office. The cost is offset by a reduction of the same amount to the AOC's capital construction and operations account, which is an administrative account. So this will not take resources from specific construction projects.

Madam Chair, a great surgeon does not operate without modern tools, a master chef does not cook without fresh ingredients, and Members of Congress should not make policy decisions without relevant and unbiased information.

I urge Members to vote ``yes'' on this amendment to restore funding to the Office of Technology Assessment.

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Mr. TAKANO. Madam Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Wasserman Schultz).
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Mr. TAKANO. Madam Chair, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Foster), a member of the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology and a respected physicist.

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Mr. TAKANO. Madam Chair, I reiterate my support for the Office of Technology Assessment. Congress does not suffer from a lack of information, but it suffers from a lack of trusted information to help make wise policy decisions. We need information that is not spun even by our own agencies, the FBI or other agencies. We need information that is not spun from particular sectors. This agency, this Office of Technology Assessment, will be overseen by a bipartisan group of lawmakers who will vet the experts that work for it.

Madam Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

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Mr. TAKANO. Madam Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

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