Title 2 — The CongressRelease 119-73

§473 Technology Assessment Board

Title 2 › Chapter CHAPTER 15— - OFFICE OF TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT › § 473

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

Creates a 13-member board made of six Senators (picked by the President pro tempore, three from each party), six House members (picked by the Speaker, three from each party), and the Director, who cannot vote. If a spot opens, the board still works and the empty seat is filled the same way it was first filled. At the start of each Congress the board picks a chairman and a vice chairman from its members. The vice acts when the chairman is absent. The chair and vice alternate between the Senate and House each Congress; in even-numbered Congresses the House members on the board pick the chairman and the other chamber picks the vice. The board can meet anytime Congress is meeting or on break. By a majority vote it can call witnesses, demand papers, take testimony, give oaths, order printing, and spend money it needs. It can make its own rules, but it cannot send a recommendation unless most members agree. Subpoenas may be signed by the chairman or a voting member the chairman or board names, and the chairman or any voting member can give oaths.

Full Legal Text

Title 2, §473

The Congress — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The Board shall consist of thirteen members as follows:

(1)six Members of the Senate, appointed by the President pro tempore of the Senate, three from the majority party and three from the minority party;

(2)six Members of the House of Representatives appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, three from the majority party and three from the minority party; and

(3)the Director, who shall not be a voting member.

(b)Vacancies in the membership of the Board shall not affect the power of the remaining members to execute the functions of the Board and shall be filled in the same manner as in the case of the original appointment.

(c)The Board shall select a chairman and a vice chairman from among its members at the beginning of each Congress. The vice chairman shall act in the place and stead of the chairman in the absence of the chairman. The chairmanship and the vice chairmanship shall alternate between the Senate and the House of Representatives with each Congress. The chairman during each even-numbered Congress shall be selected by the Members of the House of Representatives on the Board from among their number. The vice chairman during each Congress shall be chosen in the same manner from that House of Congress other than the House of Congress of which the chairman is a Member.

(d)The Board is authorized to sit and act at such places and times during the sessions, recesses, and adjourned periods of Congress, and upon a vote of a majority of its members, to require by subpena or otherwise the attendance of such witnesses and the production of such books, papers, and documents, to administer such oaths and affirmations, to take such testimony, to procure such printing and binding, and to make such expenditures, as it deems advisable. The Board may make such rules respecting its organization and procedures as it deems necessary, except that no recommendation shall be reported from the Board unless a majority of the Board assent. Subpenas may be issued over the signature of the chairman of the Board or of any voting member designated by him or by the Board, and may be served by such person or persons as may be designated by such chairman or member. The chairman of the Board or any voting member thereof may administer oaths or affirmations to witnesses.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

2 U.S.C. § 473

Title 2 — The Congress

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73