Despite the giant leaps in science and technology over the last half-century, Congress has only made small steps toward understanding the new opportunities and challenges that come with every innovation.

As Congress worked to strengthen the military against Cold War era threats and to protect its constituents from polluted air and burning waterways, a Democrat-controlled Congress and Republican president created the congressional Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) in 1972. Under the Office of Technology Assessment Act, this office was established to provide Congress with “new and effective means for securing competent, unbiased information concerning the physical, biological, economic, social, and political effects” of technological applications. OTA was governed by a bipartisan group of 12 lawmakers selected by senior leadership in both chambers of Congress. An office director and a committee of the Comptroller General, Director of the Congressional Research Service, and non-governmental scientific or technical experts provided additional oversight of the office. Over the next 23 years, OTA, an office that was usually funded by just two thousandths of a percent of the federal budget, produced 750 reports about scientific and technological impacts on a wide array of topics including the military, healthcare, education, and the environment.

As part of the mid-nineties Contract with America to reduce government spending, OTA was dis-appropriated. While the flow of knowledge from OTA to Congress ceased 24 years ago, Americans have grown ever more dependent on technology. Today, social media disinformation campaigns threaten national security and the integrity of elections. 5G, cryptocurrency, and artificial intelligence all have the potential to revolutionize instant access to life-saving information, the banking industry, and the healthcare sector. However, hearings on these subjects have revealed that Congress lacks the understanding and necessary resources to properly address these critical issues that will shape America’s future.

Despite a belief that the Congressional Research Service (CRS) and the Government Accountability Office (GAO) could fill the void of OTA, both offices now have a smaller workforce than when OTA existed. It wasn’t until seven years after OTA closed that GAO began conducting technology assessments for Congress. Over the span of 16 years, GAO produced 157 science and technology reports including ones that focused on defense technology, energy, education, and medical devices. There are promising indications that science and technology will become a greater priority at GAO after it established the Science, Technology, Assessment, and Analytics Team (STAA) as its first new mission team in 20 years. This is the closest Congress has gotten to reviving OTA in 24 years.