OFFICE OF TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT STATEMENT OF DR. JOHN H. GIBBONS, DIRECTOR PREPARED STATEMENT Senator MATTINGLY. I would like to welcome Dr. John H. Gibbons, Director, Office of Technology Assessment. If you would like, Dr. Gibbons, you may submit your statement and then we will get to the questions. Dr. GIBBONS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would offer my full statement for the record and only make some summary comments for you this morning, if that is appropriate. Senator MATTINGLY. Your prepared statement will be inserted in the record at this point. [The statement follows:] (293) STATEMENT OF DR. JOHN H. GIBBONS (A) Overview 1. OTA, created by Act of Congress, is the science and technology analytical arm for Congress. Its responsibility is two-fold: (a) to analyze current important issues in technology and policy - for example, air traffic control, nuclear and non-nuclear waste disposal, or the command, control, communications, and intelligence system for strategic nuclear weapons; and (b) to provide foresight on emerging issues for example, the looming shortage - of affordable, dependable, high-quality water or potential impacts of continued technical advances in micro-electronics, genetic engineering, and robotics. 2. alternatives. OTA's job is to identify and analyze options and to clarify policy The intended result of OTA's work is more effective use of the money and authority that is available to government. Sometimes OTA identifies opportunities for major reductions in Federal government involvement in an area (e.g., synfuels development, radioactive waste management). At other times OTA may identify cost-effective opportunities for increased involvement (e.g., coverage of vaccines in Medicare). OTA also calls attention to the limitations, drawbacks, and benefits of ongoing or proposed government programs and policies (e.g., MX Missile Basing; Technology and Soviet Energy Availability). 3. OTA performs most of its work at the request of Committees, but all of its results are available to all Members and summaries of its reports are routinely sent to all Members. At any one time, OTA has approximately 30 formal assessments going on. OTA's bipartisan, bicameral Congressional Board must approve all proposed formal assessments because the Congressional requests for analyses substantially exceed our resources. 4. The issues that OTA tackles include some of the most controversial and costly problems the Congress faces. OTA's budget is but a minute fraction of the proposed or approved Federal expenditures for activities which it assesses. 5. OTA's work is used in the legislative process in a variety of ways. Besides the direct flow of formal reports and summaries, testimony, and briefings to Committees and Members, OTA staff often are asked to assist Committee staff in preparing materials for hearings or other Committee actions on subject matters related to current or recent OTA assessments. 6. In addition, OTA reports are sold to the public by GPO. They are frequently reprinted by commercial publishers, used as texts in universities, and are widely used by the print media in providing information to the public. 7. OTA, with its broad technical expertise, serves as a "shared staff" to the Committees of both Senate and House. Many of OTA's studies are carried out in response to requests and expressions of interest from more than one Committee because the issues they contain usually lie within the jurisdiction of several Committees. For example, the requesters for Technologies for Sustaining Tropical Forest Resources include the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, with endorsements from the House Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs (Subcommittee on Insular Affairs) and the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (Subcommittee on Environmental Pollution). For the Commercial Development of Biotechnology, requesters include the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, the House Committee on Science and Technology, and the Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources. High-level Radioactive Waste Management and Disposal requesters include the House Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, the House Committee on Science and Technology, the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, and the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. The recently-completed assessment on Technology and Soviet Energy Availability was conducted for the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and the House Committee on Science and Technology. 8. OTA's reports have been found to have long-lasting value. To the extent that OTA can get a head start by anticipating heightened interest in a technology or importance of an issue and starting advance work on it, the Congress is even better served. Frequently, OTA studies have reached completion just as an issue has come to the forefront of national attention. For example, OTA's work on Technology and Soviet Energy Availability, which required 18 months from request to publication, was delivered to Congress (November 1981) in time to make a major contribution to the debate over the Soviet gas pipeline to Western Europe. Its work on Managing Commercial HighLevel Radioactive Waste is currently being extensively used in both Senate and House Committees. For 9. As specified in its statute, OTA makes extensive use of information from the private sector as well as from government sources. each assessment, we emphasize the process of pulling together and analyzing information from diverse sources. Help is sought from all the major viewpoints and economic interests concerned with a particular issue. OTA then analyzes and prepares a comprehensive report which goes through an intensive internal and external review process to assure quality, accuracy, and objectivity. During 1981, more than 2000 different experts gave assistance to OTA in its work. This process guarantees that OTA fully draws upon, but does not duplicate, the work of others in industry, academia, and government. (B) Purpose and Function of OTA OTA under its statute is charged with providing Congress with expert, unbiased, and timely information concerning the potential impacts of technologies, programs, and policies relating to science and technology. OTA's role as the analytical arm of Congress on technology is now more necessary than ever before as the United States relies increasingly on technological innovation to strengthen national security, foster economic growth, and assure human health and a healthful, safe environment. The function of OTA is to help Congress understand complex scientific and technological issues and provide both insight and foresight about how present and emerging technologies may affect -- or be affected by government policy. OTA does not take sides or recommend specific policy actions to the Congress; rather it analyzes alternative Federal policy responses and their respective implications. OTA's aim is to help focus the policy debate by making the facts clear and the implications of choices explicit. This contributes to resolution of policy issues. An evaluation of OTA's performance ultimately rests on the answer to four basic questions: (1) Does OTA address important national issues important to Congress now or within a few years? (2) What is the quality of OTA work: is it reliable, authoritative, and fair? (3) How useful is OTA to (4) Does OTA have an impact on national policy? These the Congress? questions are addressed below: Importance of Issues There is no dispute that issues such as the international competitiveness of U.S. industries, MX missile basing, the productivity of American farm and rangeland, the future for synthetic fuels, hazardous waste management, the use and availability of fresh water for agriculture, and the impact of computer and telecommunication technology are of critical national Not coincidentally, they all involve major controversies. importance. Quality To assure quality (that is, reliability, accuracy, comprehensiveness, and fairness), OTA depends on the wisdom of its Congressional Board and Advisory Council; the expertise of its staff, contractors, and advisors; and upon an extensive formal review process involving OTA management and staff, project advisory panels, and numerous outside experts. The result has been nearly 10 years of existence free from serious factual or analytical error or sustainable criticism of bias in OTA reports. The quality of OTA's work is suggested indirectly by the following observations: (1) GPO sales of OTA reports are running at an average of $200,000 a year. (OTA makes only very limited numbers of its reports |