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The Office of Technology Assessment

Floor Speech

Date: April 30, 2015
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Science

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Mr. McNERNEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to talk about the Office of Technology Assessment, the OTA.

For 22 years, the OTA was a key nonpartisan resource for Congress as it dealt with scientific and technical policy issues. The OTA was overseen by a Technical Advisory Board composed of six Senators and six Representatives, evenly split between the two parties.

The OTA was able to provide easy-to-understand explanations of complex scientific issues. For example, in 1988, the OTA provided a study called ``Healthy Children: Investing in the Future,'' showing that infants with low birth weights were more susceptible to a variety of physical and mental disabilities. This study helped change Medicaid eligibility rules by expanding access to prenatal care to millions of women, saving lives and taxpayer money. This, and other reports, provided the information needed to make reasonable policy based on scientific results.

This Congress needs scientific guidance, and I urge my colleagues to join me in calling for the reestablishment of the Office of Technology Assessment.

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