OTA scrapped the $23 million request in its February 23 testimony before the House Subcommittee on Legislative Appropriations. Instead, we submitted a conceptual plan to rebuild our budget from a zero base; we could implement the plan with a 20 percent cut in our current budget of $21,970,000, and could take a further reduction by moving from our leased space, which currently costs approximately $1,900,000 per year, into government owned space.1 In formulating our conceptual plan, we took into account the agendas and interests of the 104th Congress, based largely on many interactions with Members and staff. Naturally, taking on work is subject to the receipt of requests, availability of resources and the approval of our Board. We propose tasks in six specific areas: Terrorism and Crime Violent crime is rising to the top of voters' and Members' concerns. Moreover, we have seen that appalling acts of terrorism can happen here. OTA can provide the Congress with analyses of anti-crime, counter-terrorism, and counter-proliferation technologies and systems, based on over 15 years of experience in these areas. Our capabilities derive from work on taggants in explosives, aviation security and explosives detection, forensic DNA technology, drug interdiction, the efficacy of polygraph testing, juvenile delinquency, chemical, nuclear and biological warfare and safeguards, the causes of substance abuse and addiction, and police body armor. We also have extensive experience analyzing how information technologies can be used both by criminals and by law enforcement agencies. Currently, we have projects on improving computer network security, electronic surveillance, and using information technologies to combat money laundering. See Attachment 2 for a complete list of OTA's recent and current work in technology and law enforcement and in the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Risk Assessment OTA could help Congress review risk assessments that may soon be required for major federal regulations. OTA's relevant experience is considerable, beginning with a ground-breaking study of "Cancer Risks from the Environment" almost 15 years ago. Before the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments, OTA's estimates of the cost of achieving the urban ozone standard-today's most expensive air pollution control program dramatically differed from EPA's, and OTA provided the only quantitative estimate of the benefits. Thus, OTA could, in selected priority cases, look at examples of particular concern to the Committees. We could also undertake two specific projects, if requested: (1) a review of the EPA dioxin reassessment; and (2) an analysis of commonly used scientific standards in risk assessment. In sum, OTA's experience and skill conducting risk and cost analyses of highly technical environmental and safety regulatory programs prepare us to quickly and independently review the work of the executive branch. Health OTA is prepared to continue assisting Congress in health care deliberations, particularly in regard to: (1) drug and device regulatory programs; (2) specific aspects of health reform efforts, including changes in the Medicare Program, and (3) issues related to medical and disability technologies. In terms of regulatory reform, OTA could review FDA approval processes and regulation of new drugs, biologicals and devices. In the health care reform area, OTA could, for example, analyze reforms and controls at the State level that might be pertinent to future Federal efforts. We would focus on medical and information technologies as potential contributors to better, and in some cases possibly less expensive, health care under various scenarios, e.g., of managed care. We could continue studies of the degree of cost-effectiveness of new technologies for the treatment, detection, and prevention of various diseases and for the enhancement of functional ability in persons with disabilities. Also, OTA is well poised to provide Congress with information about the rapid advances in genetics and the human genome that will continue to present new technology-related dilemmas. Space and Defense OTA has more than 14 years of continuous experience in space technology, space policy and space programs. Much of what we have done has proved both to be timely On instructions from the House Appropriations Committee, I sent letters earlier this year to the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, and House Office Building Commission, the Librarian of Congress and the Architect of the Capitol requesting their assistance in locating space for OTA within government owned buildings as quickly as possible. As soon as relocation has been accomplished, recapture of the lease expenditure will allow for the reduction in OTA's appropriation described above. and to have a long "shelf life". The 104th Congress has clearly stated its interest in increasing the private sector role in space activities. OTA has already begun to do some work in this area, a fertile one for major efforts for the remainder of this Congress and beyond. Two other major areas of concern are: (1) space policy priorities; and (2) international cooperation and collaboration in space. Both are themes that have run through OTA work for more than a decade, and both are ripe for a fresh consideration by the Congress in light of recent dramatic events. OTA has had a rich program of assessments of defense and security issues dating back to 1980. Recent work has concentrated on post-cold war topics such as proliferation, problems of treaty implementation, defense industry and technology, and advanced modeling and simulation. Major technological areas of evolving interest include: the role of technology in evolving force structures and missions; changing terrorist threats; ballistic missile defense; and the future role of defense-unique industries and R&D facilities. Energy and Transportation As Congress considers changes to legislation affecting electric utilities, OTA could extend its earlier work on the technical feasibility of deregulation and examine the role of new technologies in implementing increased competition. OTA could also build on its work on nuclear power and nuclear waste to assess technologies for accelerating safe and secure interim storage of spent fuel, pending the availability of a repository. Also, as federal budget constraints prompt Congress to reexamine the goals and performance of the government's R&D efforts, OTA would continue to assist Congress in evaluating the costs, benefits, and performance of energy science and technology programs that receive federal funding. Finally, because the Federal role in research, infrastructure, and oversight of transportation safety is substantial, OTA can address whether and how new complex software systems and advanced automation fit into the safety equation, and quickly assess transportation safety by technology issue and transport mode. Telecommunications and Information Technology OTA could examine the evolution of electronic commerce and analyze how the national information infrastructure (NII) could be shaped to promote economic growth in the private sector and better and cheaper delivery of services in the public sector and private sectors, including education and training. We could extend our efforts in the areas of encryption, system security, privacy, and computer crime and continue to work on the building blocks of the NII such as wireless technologies, standards and interoperability, and software development. We could also help Congress deal with issues such as defining universal service and equitable access to information systems and computer technologies, e.g., for rural areas, or for schools, and analyze what effects new technologies could have on goals such as economic development in rural areas and student achievement. I would characterize these zero base areas as "centers of gravity". This set of areas reflects our sense of how we would need to reposition the agency's smaller resource base to best respond to the requests we are most likely to receive in the next few years. Naturally, the work we would take on would, as usual, be decided by the Chairmen and Ranking Minority Members of the committees of jurisdiction, and be approved by our Board. We could mobilize resources to begin some new work in these areas very soon. In all six areas, because of our past and current work, and the expertise of our staff, we would be able to hit the ground running on new work. OTA'S VALUE TO THE CONGRESS The Technology Assessment Board directed OTA to analyze several aspects of its performance. First, we have always stressed the non-partisan nature of our work, and the bipartisan composition of the Board. Now we have numbers for our work. Figures 1 and 2 shows the results of an analysis of Board approved projects from the 97th through the 103rd Congress. The result: about 80 percent of OTA assessments were requested by both parties. The data also show a striking similarity in behavior between the Republican controlled Senate of 1981 through 1986 and the Democratic controlled Senate of 1987 through 1994: in both cases, the party in control dominated single-party requests from the Senate by a large margin. Still, throughout, the majority of assessments had both a Republican and a Democrat Senate requestor. Reports requested by the Senate 97th through 99th Congresses (81 reports requested) Secondly, an analysis titled "About OTA", prepared at the direction of TAB and included in Attachment 4, documents examples of OTA studies that have led to significant saving for the federal government. OTA work helps Congress in several ways. Our work often assists in the preparation of legislation and in the incorporation of specific provisions based on sound scientific and technical information. However, OTA work that is instrumental in a Congressional decision not to pursue legislation is just as valuable. OTA reports also prepare Congress to debate policies from a common background and base of credible scientific and technical knowledge. Further, OTA work helps Congress to oversee and monitor Executive branch programs. Most of these uses of OTA work are illustrated by the examples in my testimony in the section OTA's Contributions to the Work of the 104th Congress. "About OTA" contains other examples. This year as in the past, with the help of the Board and the Appropriations Committees, OTA has deflected new legislatively mandated studies. The agency has comfortably met all targets for administrative cost reductions and FTE controls. We have made it much easier and cheaper for the Congress and the Nation to access OTA information and reports through the addition of electronic access. Since last summer, OTA has steadily increased its delivery of OTA reports via the Internet. Thousands of users receive OTA's information by electronic mail. In January of this year, OTA made its electronic bulletin board system accessible via CAPNET, Capital Hill's wide area network, the Internet and by telephone. Nationwide, thousands in OTA's network of advisors and contacts subscribe to OTA's electronic information and report release system through the agency's listserve. In Summary.-Through shared staff at CBO and GAO, Congress has provided for sound and impartial economic and budgetary analyses and for careful audits of government programs. In the world today, science and technology increasingly pervade all aspects of life, public and private, and are increasingly part of what legislators must understand in proposing and implementing workable, affordable solutions to national problems. The legislative branch should be able to call on a staff shared among all the committees for impartial scientific evaluations and information-a shared resource that the committee staffs need more than ever as they are cut back. OTA's capacity to provide Congress with unbiased scientific and technological advice is not duplicated or, indeed, matched elsewhere. This capacity derives from a staff highly trained across the range of science and technical disciplines; their credentials, unique in the Congress, are displayed in Attachment 5. Perhaps as important, OTA can and does also call on national experts and stakeholders from American industry, academia, other parts of the private sector and the States who provide a diversity and an unparalleled source of real world advice and review not available to other agencies of the Congress. Finally, OTA's value depends on the fact that it is of the Congress, tuned to and responsive to the legislative process, answerable to and beholden to no person, group, institution, or interest but the Congress. And we are kept even handed and non-partisan by our Board. Being part of the Congress means, furthermore, that OTA can respond quickly and flexibly when Congressional needs change or Congressional priorities shift, as they have now. In conclusion, I want to thank you Mr. Chairman, and the Members of the Subcommittee, for inviting me here today. I shall be pleased to respond to questions that you and your colleagues may have. ATTACHMENT 1.—OTA PUBLICATIONS, FISCAL YEAR 19951 The Fusion Energy Program: The Role of TPX and Alternate Concepts Teachers and Technology: Making the Connection Nuclear Safeguards and the International Atomic Energy Agency Other Approaches to Civil-Military Integration: The Chinese and Japanese Arms Industries Cost-Effectiveness of Colorectal Cancer Screening in Average-Risk Adults Agriculture, Trade, and Environment: Achieving Complementary Policies Hospital Financing in Seven Countries Costs and Effectiveness of Prostate Cancer Screening in Elderly Men Issue Update on Information Security and Privacy in Network Environments The National Space Transportation Policy: Issues for Congress A History of the Department of Defense Federally Funded Research and Development Centers Cost-Effectiveness of Screening for Osteoporosis: Vol. 1 Cost-Effectiveness of Screening for Osteoporosis: Vol. 2, Technical Appendices Telecommunications Technology and Native Americans: Opportunities and Chal lenges Wireless Technologies and the National Information Infrastructure Federal Technology Transfer and the Human Genome Project ATTACHMENT 2.-PROLIFERATION OF WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION Key staff contacts: Gerald Epstein, Tony Fainberg, Tom Karas. 1As of May 1995. |