H.R. 10946: Congressional Office of Technology Improvement and Enhancement Act

This bill would rename the existing Office of Technology Assessment to the Congressional Office of Technology and update the law governing how it operates.

What the office would do

The bill would broaden and clarify the office’s role in helping Congress understand science and technology issues. It would direct the office to work in a way that is timely, efficient, and focused on long-term trends and impacts.

• Provide technical assistance to individual Members of Congress, committees, and congressional offices.
• Offer information such as data, research, analysis, summaries, preliminary findings, expert judgments, and policy options.
• Respond to requests for technical assistance within 14 calendar days, without needing prior approval from the board for those requests.
• Conduct horizon scanning to identify emerging science and technology trends that may be important to the country.

Formal assessments

The bill would revise how the office starts more formal studies. Formal assessment activities could still be requested by Members, committees, the board, or the director, but the bill adds new procedures and definitions.

• Members or committees requesting a formal assessment would submit the request to the board.
• The board would decide whether to take on the request.
• The board could prioritize requests it sees as most important.
• The office would be expected, as much as practicable, to balance the number of formal assessment requests from members of one political party and the other.
• The board would have to explain how it makes decisions about requests, and the director would provide an annual report on requests by party affiliation.

Public disclosure

The bill would require findings from completed analyses to be made public. It also says completed analyses may be made public, but in those cases they shall be made public.

Staffing and outside experts

The bill would allow the office to hire scientists, engineers, and other technical professionals, including people on temporary leave from universities, industry, or research institutions. It would also require measures to prevent or reduce conflicts of interest.

Coordination with other congressional offices

To avoid duplication, the bill would require the office to coordinate with both the Congressional Research Service and the Government Accountability Office on technology assessment work.

Board changes and reporting

The bill would change how members of the Technology Assessment Board are appointed, shifting those appointments to congressional leaders rather than the President pro tempore of the Senate. It would also require:

• At least one annual board meeting where a Member of Congress may present a research topic for consideration.
• An annual report to the House Committee on House Administration and the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration describing the office’s work, the requests received, the assessments undertaken, and the status of those assessments.

Definitions

The bill would add definitions for terms like formal assessment activity, technical assistance, and established Office expertise. These definitions are meant to make clear that the office can provide both formal studies and quicker, more informal help using its existing knowledge and resources.

Relevant Companies

None found.