PRIA, Government Policy, Made Personal

Summary

Gives the Office the power to do what it needs to carry out its work, as long as money is available. The Office can use outside experts and groups, form short-term task forces, and make contracts or other arrangements with federal, state, local, private, or educational organizations, with or without payment, and without bonds or regard to section 6101 of title 41. It can make advance or progress payments for technology work without regard to section 3324(a) and (b) of title 31. The Office may accept unpaid volunteers and pay their travel and subsistence under section 5703 of title 5. It may buy, lease, hold, and sell real or personal property it needs. The Office can also make rules to run itself. Contractors who cost the government money must keep records that let the Office do audits, and those books must be available to the Office and the Comptroller General. The Office must not run labs, pilot plants, or test facilities itself. It can ask executive departments or agencies for information and help, and those agencies must provide it. Agency heads may detail staff to the Office, with or without reimbursement. The Director hires staff and sets pay under Board rules.

Title 2, §475

The Congress, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Use of public and private personnel and organizations; formation of special ad hoc task forces; contracts with governmental, etc., agencies and instrumentalities; advance, progress, and other payments; utilization of services of voluntary and uncompensated personnel; acquisition, holding, and disposal of real and personal property; promulgation of rules and regulations

The Office shall have the authority, within the limits of available appropriations, to do all things necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter, including, but without being limited to, the authority to—

(1)make full use of competent personnel and organizations outside the Office, public or private, and form special ad hoc task forces or make other arrangements when appropriate;

(2)enter into contracts or other arrangements as may be necessary for the conduct of the work of the Office with any agency or instrumentality of the United States, with any State, territory, or possession or any political subdivision thereof, or with any person, firm, association, corporation, or educational institution, with or without reimbursement, without performance or other bonds, and without regard to section 6101 of title 41;

(3)make advance, progress, and other payments which relate to technology assessment without regard to the provisions of section 3324(a) and (b) of title 31;

(4)accept and utilize the services of voluntary and uncompensated personnel necessary for the conduct of the work of the Office and provide transportation and subsistence as authorized by section 5703 of title 5, for persons serving without compensation;

(5)acquire by purchase, lease, loan, or gift, and hold and dispose of by sale, lease, or loan, real and personal property of all kinds necessary for or resulting from the exercise of authority granted by this chapter; and

(6)prescribe such rules and regulations as it deems necessary governing the operation and organization of the Office.

(b)Recordkeeping by contractors and other parties entering into contracts and other arrangements with Office; availability of books and records to Office and Comptroller General for audit and examination

Contractors and other parties entering into contracts and other arrangements under this section which involve costs to the Government shall maintain such books and related records as will facilitate an effective audit in such detail and in such manner as shall be prescribed by the Office, and such books and records (and related documents and papers) shall be available to the Office and the Comptroller General of the United States, or any of their duly authorized representatives, for the purpose of audit and examination.

(c)Operation of laboratories, pilot plants, or test facilities

The Office, in carrying out the provisions of this chapter, shall not, itself, operate any laboratories, pilot plants, or test facilities.

(d)Requests to executive departments or agencies for information, suggestions, estimates, statistics, and technical assistance; duty of executive departments and agencies to furnish information, etc.

The Office is authorized to secure directly from any executive department or agency information, suggestions, estimates, statistics, and technical assistance for the purpose of carrying out its functions under this chapter. Each such executive department or agency shall furnish the information, suggestions, estimates, statistics, and technical assistance directly to the Office upon its request.

(e)Requests to heads of executive departments or agencies for detail of personnel; reimbursement

On request of the Office, the head of any executive department or agency may detail, with or without reimbursement, any of its personnel to assist the Office in carrying out its functions under this chapter.

(f)Appointment and compensation of personnel

The Director shall, in accordance with such policies as the Board shall prescribe, appoint and fix the compensation of such personnel as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Codification In subsec. (a)(2), “section 6101 of title 41” substituted for “section 3709 of the Revised Statutes (41 U.S.C. 5)” on authority of Pub. L. 111–350, § 6(c), Jan. 4, 2011, 124 Stat. 3854, which Act enacted Title 41, Public Contracts. In subsec. (a)(3), “section 3324(a) and (b) of title 31” substituted for “section 3648 of the Revised Statutes (31 U.S.C. 529)” on authority of Pub. L. 97–258, § 4(b), Sept. 13, 1982, 96 Stat. 1067, the first section of which enacted Title 31, Money and Finance.

§475 Powers of Office of Technology Assessment

Summary

Title 2, §475

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Citations & Metadata