II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2509 

To rename the Office of Technology Assessment as the Congressional Office 

of Technology, to revise the functions and duties of the Office, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 19, 2019 

Mr. TILLIS (for himself and Ms. HIRONO) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration 

A BILL 

To rename the Office of Technology Assessment as the Congressional Office of Technology, to revise the functions 

and duties of the Office, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Office of Technology 

5 Assessment Improvement and Enhancement Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. RENAMING OF OFFICE OF TECHNOLOGY ASSESS2 MENT AS CONGRESSIONAL OFFICE OF TECH3 NOLOGY. 

4 (a) RENAMING.—Section 3 of the Technology Assess5 ment Act of 1972 (2 U.S.C. 472) is amended— 

6 (1) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘OFFICE

7 OF TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT’’ and inserting ‘‘CON8 GRESSIONAL OFFICE OF TECHNOLOGY’’; and 

9 (2) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘the Office of 

10 Technology Assessment’’ and inserting ‘‘the Con11 gressional Office of Technology’’. 

12 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 5(a) of 

13 such Act (2 U.S.C. 474(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘Direc14 tor of the Office of Technology Assessment’’ and inserting 

15 ‘‘Director of the Congressional Office of Technology’’. 

16 (c) REFERENCES IN LAW.—Any reference in any law, 

17 rule, or regulation to the Office of Technology Assessment 

18 shall be deemed to be a reference to the Congressional Of19 fice of Technology. 

20 SEC. 3. REVISION OF FUNCTIONS AND DUTIES OF OFFICE. 

21 (a) BASIC FUNCTIONS AND DUTIES.—Section 3(c) of 

22 the Technology Assessment Act of 1972 (2 U.S.C. 472(c)) 

23 is amended— 

24 (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by 

25 inserting after the first sentence the following: ‘‘This 

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1 fectively, and efficiently as possible while maintain2 ing a forward-looking, holistic, and rigorous ap3 proach to the assessment of the impacts of tech4 nology.’’; 

5 (2) in paragraph (6), by striking ‘‘completed 

6 analyses’’ and inserting ‘‘completed analyses, as well 

7 as preliminary findings of ongoing analyses,’’; 

8 (3) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 

9 (7); 

10 (4) by striking the period at the end of para11 graph (8) and inserting a semicolon; and 

12 (5) by adding at the end the following new 

13 paragraphs: 

14 ‘‘(9) provide information to Members and com15 mittees of Congress in the form of briefings, infor16 mal conversations, documents, and similar formats 

17 which may be provided expeditiously on the basis of 

18 existing research and staff expertise without the 

19 need for review by the Board; 

20 ‘‘(10) provide technical assistance to Members 

21 of Congress on legislation related to science and 

22 technology which may be provided expeditiously on 

23 the basis of existing research and staff expertise 

24 without the need for review by the Board; and 


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1 ‘‘(11) when requested, provide objective policy 

2 options to Members on how Members may achieve 

3 goals with respect to science and technology policy.’’. 

4 (b) REQUIREMENTS FOR INITIATION OF ASSESS5 MENT ACTIVITIES.—Section 3(d) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 

6 472(d)) is amended to read as follows: 

7 ‘‘(d)(1) Assessment activities undertaken by the Of8 fice may be initiated upon the request of— 

9 ‘‘(A) subject to paragraph (2), any Member of 

10 Congress (including a Delegate or Resident Commis11 sioner to the Congress), any standing, special, or se12 lect committee of either House of Congress, or any 

13 joint committee of Congress; 

14 ‘‘(B) the Board; or 

15 ‘‘(C) the Director, in consultation with the 

16 Board. 

17 ‘‘(2) A Member of Congress or committee requesting 

18 that the Office undertake an assessment activity under 

19 paragraph (1)(A) shall submit the request to the Board, 

20 which shall review the request. The Office shall determine 

21 whether or not to undertake an assessment activity in re22 sponse to such a request in accordance with such policies 

23 and procedures as the Office shall establish, under 

24 which— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the Office may give priority to those re2 quests which, in the Board’s determination, relate to 

3 technology issues of the greatest relevance and im4 portance; 

5 ‘‘(B) to the greatest extent practicable, the Of6 fice shall ensure that the number of assessment ac7 tivities undertaken during a year in response to re8 quests which are submitted by members of one polit9 ical party is equal to the number of assessment ac10 tivities undertaken in response to requests which are 

11 submitted by members of another political party; 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(C) to the greatest extent practicable, the Of14 fice shall provide the Member or committee submit15 ting the request with information regarding how the 

16 Office reached its determination in response to the 

17 request.’’. 

18 (c) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF FINDINGS OF COM19 PLETED ANALYSES.—Section 3(e) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 

20 472(e)) is amended by inserting after ‘‘may be made avail21 able to the public’’ the following: ‘‘(and, in the case of 

22 findings of completed analyses, shall be made available to 

23 the public)’’. 

24 (d) AUTHORIZING APPOINTMENT OF TECHNICAL

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1 DEMIC, INDUSTRIAL, OR RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS.—Sec2 tion 6(f) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 475(f)) is amended by add3 ing at the end the following new sentence: ‘‘The Director 

4 may, under the authority provided by this subsection and 

5 in accordance with such policies as the Board chooses to 

6 prescribe, appoint for a limited term, or on a temporary 

7 basis, scientists, engineers, and other technical and profes8 sional personnel on leave of absence from academic, indus9 trial, or research institutions to work for the Office.’’. 

10 (e) AVOIDING UNNECESSARY DUPLICATION OF RE11 SEARCH ACTIVITIES WITH OTHER OFFICES.— 

12 (1) CONGRESSIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE.—Sec13 tion 8 of such Act (2 U.S.C. 477) is amended by 

14 adding at the end the following new subsection: 

15 ‘‘(e) The Office and the Congressional Research Serv16 ice shall coordinate technology assessment activities to 

17 avoid unnecessary duplication or overlapping of research 

18 activities.’’. 

19 (2) GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE.— 

20 Section 9 of such Act (2 U.S.C. 478) is amended by 

21 adding at the end the following new subsection: 

22 ‘‘(e) The Office and the Government Accountability 

23 Office shall coordinate technology assessment activities to 

24 avoid unnecessary duplication or overlapping of research 

25 activities.’’. 


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1 SEC. 4. TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT BOARD. 

2 (a) APPOINTMENT OF MEMBERS OF BOARD BY CON3 GRESSIONAL LEADERSHIP.—Section 4(a) of the Tech4 nology Assessment Act of 1972 (2 U.S.C. 473) is amend5 ed— 

6 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘appointed by 

7 the President pro tempore of the Senate’’ and in8 serting ‘‘appointed jointly by the majority leader and 

9 the minority leader of the Senate’’; and 

10 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘appointed by 

11 the Speaker of the House of Representatives’’ and 

12 inserting ‘‘appointed jointly by the Speaker and mi13 nority leader of the House of Representatives’’. 

14 (b) INVITATION TO MEMBERS OF CONGRESS TO AT15 TEND ANNUAL MEETING OF TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT

16 BOARD; ANNUAL REPORT.—Section 4 of such Act (2 

17 U.S.C. 473) is amended by adding at the end the following 

18 new subsections: 

19 ‘‘(e) At least once during each calendar year, the 

20 Board shall hold a meeting at which Members of Congress 

21 may appear and present information to the Board regard22 ing any technology assessment activities the Members may 

23 wish the Board to undertake. 

24 ‘‘(f) Not later than 90 days after the end of each cal25 endar year, the Board shall submit to the Subcommittees 

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1 priations of the House of Representatives and Senate a 

2 report on the activities of the Office during the year, and 

3 shall include in the report a description of the technology 

4 assessment activities undertaken by the Office during the 

5 year, including the number of requests received from 

6 Members and committees of Congress under section 

7 2(d)(1)(A), the number and type of assessment activities 

8 undertaken in response to such requests, and the current 

9 status of such assessment activities.’’. 

Æ 


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