§472 Office of Technology Assessment

Summary

Creates the Office of Technology Assessment inside the legislative branch. The Office has a Technology Assessment Board that sets policy and a Director who runs the Office. The Office must give Congress early warnings about the likely good and bad effects of technology and provide other useful information. It must find current or likely impacts, try to show cause-and-effect links, suggest different technical ways to carry out programs and different programs to reach goals, compare and estimate the impacts of those options, share finished findings with Congress, point out where more research or data are needed, and do other related tasks the proper authorities direct. Assessments can start when a committee chair asks (including if the ranking minority member or a majority of the committee requests it), or when the Board or the Director (after consulting the Board) asks. Reports go to the requesting committee and other relevant committees. Most reports can be made public unless security laws bar sharing or the Board withholds them under section 552(b) of title 5.