y3. 7 'L"'l../2-: BISON :z. r 'Z.' ATIT S w TDOE IT 0 s CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES Offic of Technology As ssment WASHINGTON D. C 20510 Office ofTechnology Assessment Congressional Board Rt>pr.o>sentotiue MORRIS K UDALL. Arizona , Cha~rmon ~enator TED STEVENS Alaska, Vice Cha~rman Senate EDWARD M KENNEDY .\1assachusetu. ERNES" F HOLLI:"-:GS South Carolina ADLAI E. STEVENSON Illinois ORRIN G. HATCH Utah CHARLES McC . MATHIAS. JR Mort,•fand House GEORGE E BROWN, JR California JOHN D DING ELL M1d11 on LARRY WINN JR Kan~as CLARENCE E MII.LER Ohto JOHN W WYDLER New Y·)rk Director's Office JOHN H GIBBONS. D"ector Advisory Council FREDERICK C . ROBBINS Cho1rman JEROME B w:ESNER Vice Chairman J FRED BU-y CLAIRET DFDR ICK JAMES C. FLETCHER LEW! GILBERT GUDE CARl: HODGES CHARLE::> N KIMBALL ,JQHN T McALISTER .JR RACHEl McCULLOCH ELMER B STAATS THOMAS JOHN H GIBBONS ex offiCIO The Te hn lo.3y Assessment Board approves th~Jt'lea~e of tht!:l repon which identtfies a rc1nge of vtewpoints on a <;tgnif•cant issue fac· \ng thl~ 5 Congress The views expressed in thts report are nnt ~c <>san y those o the Board. OTA Advisory Council, or of in d1vtdual ml::'mbt.•rs thereof . WHAT OTA I OT A is an analytical support agency of the United States Congress. Its purpose is to help Congress deal with the new and unique kinds of issues that confront our increasingly complex, interdependent, high-technology society, The New Issues Consider, for example, the question of how to manage wastes from nuclear powerplants. More than three decades into the nuclear age, the United States still has no program for the safe and lasting disposal of these wastes . Nearly all wastes thus far are in temporary storage and the amount continues to accumulate. How this issue is resolved will determine the future of nuclear power and the shape of the Nation's energy future. In seeking to resolve it, the Congress must explore the entire ''state-of-the-art" concerning disposal technologies and sites. It must consider the political , economic, environmental, and social implications of the various options for waste disposal and the relative risks for present and future generations. In short, Congress must examine and assess an intricate array of technical certainties and uncertainties, social values and percept ons, political judgments and tradeoffs. policy options and implications, as it decides whether and when it is "safe" to commit the country to a particular program for the permanent management of nuclear wastes. Like this problem of nuclear waste, a growing number of major issues in every area of congressional concern-such as energy, environment, natural resources, national security, health, agriculture, telecommunications, transportation, world trade-have three distinguishing characteristics: 1. Their most important impacts are often not the immediate and the isolated but the longer range and the more inclusive. 2. They are complex, and their analysis requires the integrating of a broad range of information and expertise that cut across the various fields of knowledge . 3. They have a significant technological content, and efforts to resolve them adequately must employ the best scientific information and analysis available. During the 1960's, Congress found that failure to take into account the complexity, breadth, and long-term implications of such issues led to policy decisions that were inappropriate, ineffective, or worse. Congress also found itself forced to decide those issues on the basis of often inadequate and biased information from outside sources-such as executive agencie_ and "special interest" groups. After a long series of studies and hearings, Congress decided to create its own capability for assessing such issues. In 1972 , it authorized the establishment of OTA as a con gre s1onal source of mformation and analysis tn tis nonpartisan. expert, objective, and anticipatory. The Task OTA's basic job is to explore complex issues involving science and technology in ways that clarify for Congress both the range of policy options and the potential impacts of adopting each of those options. OTA is intended to provide Congress with early indications and analyses of emerging technological issues. OTA does not normally recommend or advocate particular policies or actions. In the words of an OTA Board Chairman. OTA can be described as a "think tank'' designed to assist Congress in coping with the difficult and often highly technical issues that crowd the Nation's public agenda in the late 20th century. The Organization The Board OTA 1s governed by a 12 member. bipartisan Congressional Board on which the OTA Director serves as a nonvoting member. The Board consists of six Senator and six Representative::>. evenly divided by party an appointed by the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House, respectively . The Board elects a Chairman and Vice Chairman . The posts alternate between the Senate and House in succeeding Congresses. 1ihe Vice Chairman IS a member of the minority party. The Advisory Council The Board is aided by an Advisory Council made up of 10 public members eminent in science, technology, and education. who are appointed by the Board. The Comptroller General of the United States and the Director of the Congressional Research Service of the Library of Congress are ex officro members. li'he Council advises the Board on OTA assessments and other matters. The Director and Deputy Director The Director. who is appointed by the Board, has full authority and responsibility for organizing and managing OTA's resources according to the overall policies set by the Board. The Deputy Director is appointed by the Director w1th the approval of the Board The Staff OTA has a relatively small, in-house staff of 80 to 90 professionals whose skills span the spectrum of the physical and social sciences, engineering, the biological and environmental sciences. political science, medicine, law , and public administration . WHAT OTA DOES OTA works directly with and for the committees of Congress, which do the substantive spadework on legislation for Congress as a whole. Assessment Requests and Approvals According to the OTA Act, requests for OTA assessments may be made by: • The Chairman of any congressional committee acting alone or at the request of the ranking minority member or of a majority of committee members. • The OTA Board. • The OTA Director, in consultation with the Board. The OT A Board decides whether or not OT A will undertake a requested assessment. Once a request is received, the OTA staff screens the proposed study to determine what resources and time it might require and what modifications it might need to suit both OTA's resources and congressional needs. Following this screening. the staff presents a formal study proposal to the Board. The Board makes its decision on the basis of this proposal. OTA Studies and Services The bulk of OTA's work centers on comprehensive, indepth assessments that may take a year or more to complete. The Office also provides a wide range of shorter, quicker responses to immediate congressional needs. Working with the staff of requesting and interested committees, OTA tries to tailor all of its studies to meet congressional schedules. OTA's rapid responses to committee needs flow out of the knowledge base built up through past and current assessments. OTA may be asked, for example. to evaluate various approaches for financing energy conservation by drawing on the expertise acquired through earlier studies of energy conservation strategies. Or OTA may provide brief topical "spinoffs' from assessments in progress-such as an analysis of the prospects for gasohol prepared for immediate congressional use during the course of a larger assessment of the potential for producing energy from biological processes. OT A can also structure longer range assessments so that the results, in various stages, are delivered to Congress in the form of interim reports. In addition, OTA provides advice to committee members and staff, presents testimony at hearings, and conducts workshops with committees. HOW OTA WORKS OTA's skilled, multidisciplinary staff plans, directs, and drafts all assessments. In the development of specific studies, it draws on the broad technical and professional resources of the private sector, including the universities, research organizations, industry, and public interest groups. Proiect Teams The OTA staff is organized into various programs along issue or sub jec lines . Multidisciplinary project teams , from one or more programs, are formed to conduct specific: assessments. These teams keep in close contact with committee staff throughout the progress of an assessment. The project team develops th e overall study plan. id ntifies , enlists. and works with the appropriate contractors and consultants, analyzes and integrates their work, does the basic policy analysis, and develops the final report. Panels Throughout each project, OTA uses advisory panels whose members reflect the range of expertise and interests concerned with that particular subject. Such panels include not only distinguished scientists , engineers. and other experts , but also affected and interested parties from labor, industry, the academic commumty, public interest groups1 State and local government, and the citizenry at large. These panels help define and shape OTA studies as they start and thoroughly critique them be:ore they are released. Through the use of such panels, and other forms of outside review and participation, OTA seeks to ensure that its reports are objective. fair, and authoritative. Public Participation OTA makes a serious and systematic effort to ensure that the views of the public are fairly reflected in each of its assessments. The involvement of a broad spectrum of the public serves two important purposes. First, it gives citizens access to information which may ultimately affect national decisionmaking. Second, it informs and improves OTA's work by helping eliminate bias, introducing new or littleunderstood points of view, and identifying any important contrasts between the perspectives of technically trained experts and lay citizens . OTA uses a number of methods for involving the public. Members of advisory panels and workshops represent diverse viewpoints and political positions. Interviews and surveys are sometimes conducted. Formal and fnformal public meetings are held. A major effort is made by OTA Organization Chart Congressional Technology Assessment Board H Advisory J Director Counc1l Deputy Director J Assistant Director Energy, Materials. and International Security Divis1on ~ Energy PrograrP _ lnternal'l Security & Commerce Program .._ Materials Program - Support Services Assistant Director Health and Life ScieC~ces Division ~ Food & Renewable Resources Program ~ Genetics & Population Program I Assistant Director Science, Information, and Transportation Division r-Oceans Program Space Technology r- Program Telecommun1cat1on & ~ Information Systems Program _ Transportation Program OTA to obtain public comments and review of draft documents as work continues. All or any of these methods may be used in any study; the topic itself defines the appropriate choices. The crucial element is that the method be truly participatory. so that a real exchange of views can occur. Research Coordination OTA worKs with the other congressional support agencies-the Congressional Budget Office, the Congressional Research Service of the Library of Congress, and the General Accounting Office-in an interagency Research Notification System. Its purpose is to coordinate activities and exchange information in order to avoid duplication of effort. Representatives of each organization meet regularly, and biweekly status reports are published in a central directory of congressional research activity. Similarly. OTA stays in touch not only with the published work of analysts and researchers in Federal agencies and throughout the country. but also with their current activities. Thus. OTA can frequently obtain valuable unpublished data and information. ome Completed OTA Studies Energy From Biological Processes Residential Energy Conservation The Direct Use of Coal: Prospects and Problems of Production and Combustion Application of Solar Technology to Today's Energy Needs Analysis of the Proposed National Energy Plan, 1977 Enhanced Oil Recovery Potential in the United States Gas Potential From Devonian Shale of the Appalachian Basin A Technology Assessment of Coal lurry Pipelines Environmental Contaminants in Food Drugs in Livestock Feed Emerging Food Marketing Technologies: A Preliminary Analysis Nutrition Research Alternatives Open Shelf~ Life Dating of Food The Implications of Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Medical Technology Technologies for Forecasting Physician Supply and Demand Assessing the Efficacy and Safety of Medical Technologies Policy Implications of the CT Scanner Cancer Testing Technology and Saccharin Impact of Technology on the Competitiveness of the U.S. Steel Industry Oil Shale Technology Management of Fuel and Nonfuel Minerals in Federal Land Taggants in Explosives Technology and East-West Trade Effects of Nuclear War Nuclear Proliferation and Safeguards Renewable Ocean Energy Sources Establishing a 200-Mile Fisheries Zone Coastal Effects of Offshore Energy Systems Oil Transportation by Tankers: An Analysis of Marine Pollution and Safety Measures The Impact of Inflation on the Federal R&D Investment Changes in the Future Use and Characteri tics of the Automobile Transportation System An Assessment of Community Planning for Mass Transit An Evaluation of Railroad Safety Studie in Progress (as of September 1980) Global Energy Trends-Global Oil Alternative Energy Futures Solar Power Satellite Systems Synthetic Fuels for Transportation Decentralized Electric Energy Generating Systems An Analysis of Nuclear Powerplant Standardization Problems An Assessment of Development and Production Potential of Federal Coal Leases An Assessment of Nonnuclear Industrial Hazardous Waste Impact of Technology on Competitiveness of U.S. Electronics Industry U.S. Industrial Competitiveness: A Comparison of Steel. Electronics, and Automobiles Technology and Soviet Energy Availability MX Missile Basing U.S. Food and Agricultural Research Impact of Technology on Productivity of the Land Technologies for Determining Cancer Risks From the Environment Evaluation of Veterans Administration Agent Orange Protocol Technologies for the Handicapped Strategies for Medical Technology Assessment lm;Jacts of Applied Genetics Technology and World Population An Assessment of Technology for Local Development National Laboratories-Oversight, Legislative, and Authorization Issues Technological Innovation and Health, Safety, and Environmental Regulations An Assessment of High-Level Radioactive Waste Management and Disposal Freshwater Resources Management, Planning, and Policy: An Assessment of Models and Predictive Methods Ocean Research Technology Assessment of the Societal Impact of National information Systems Sccietal Impact of Telecommunications Technology Sr::ace Policy and Applications Impacts of the 1979 World Administrative Radio Conference Impact of Advanced Air Transport Technology Airport and Air Traffic Control System Automotive Fuel Efficiency and Alternative Energy Sources General Information Information on the o peration of OTA , the nature and status of ongoing assessments, or a list of available publications may be obtained by writing or calling : Public Communications Office Office ofTechnology Assessment U.S. Congress Washington , D .C . 20510 (202) 224-0885 Publications Available OTA Annual Report. -Details OTA's activities and summarizes reports published during the preceeding year. List of Publications.-Catalogs by subject area all of OTA's published reports with instructions on how to order them . Publication Briefs.-Summarize reports and findings of assessments. Press Releases.-Announce publication of reports , staff appointments, and other newsworthy activities. Ongoing Assessments.-Contains brief descriptions of assessments presently underway with estimated dates of completion. Contacts Within OTA (OTA offices are located at 600 Penns':,rlvania Avenue, S .E., Washington, D.C .) Office of the Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . ...... . ... 224-3695 Congressional and Institutional Relations .. ... . . ...... 224-9241 Energy, Materials , and International Security Division ... . 224-0732 Health and Life Sciences Division ........ .. .. . .... .. 224-1047 Science, Information, and Transportatio n Division .... . . 224-0732 Administration Office .. . . . . . .................. . .. 224-8712 Personnel Office . ....... . ................ . .... . 224-8713 Publications ................... . ... ... .. . .. . ... 224-8996 POSTAGE AND FEES PAID OFFICE OF TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES OFFICE OF TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT WASHINGTON, DC. 20510 OFFICIAL BUSINESS PENALTY FOR PRIVATE USE, $300 OTA-PC-104 (Revised) SEPTEMBER 198G