I 
117TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6573 
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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 2, 2022 
Mr. TAKANO (for himself, Mr. FOSTER, Mr. CASTEN, and Mr. BEYER) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on House 
Administration 
A BILL 
To rename the Office of Technology Assessment as the Con-
gressional Office of Technology, to revise the functions 
and duties of the Office, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Office of Technology 
Assessment Improvement and Enhancement Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. RENAMING OF OFFICE OF TECHNOLOGY ASSESS-
MENT AS CONGRESSIONAL OFFICE OF TECH-
NOLOGY. 
(a) RENAMING.—Section 3(a) of the Technology As-
sessment Act of 1972 (2 U.S.C. 472(a)) is amended by 
striking ‘‘the Office of Technology Assessment’’ and in-
serting ‘‘the Congressional Office of Technology’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 5(b) of 
such Act (2 U.S.C. 474(b)) is amended by striking ‘‘Direc-
tor of the Office of Technology Assessment’’ and inserting 
‘‘Director of the Congressional Office of Technology’’. 
(c) REFERENCES IN LAW.—Any reference in any law, 
rule, or regulation to the Office of Technology Assessment 
shall be deemed to be a reference to the Congressional Of-
fice of Technology. 
SEC. 3. REVISION OF FUNCTIONS AND DUTIES OF OFFICE. 
(a) BASIC FUNCTIONS AND DUTIES.—Section 3(c) of 
the Technology Assessment Act of 1972 (2 U.S.C. 472(c)) 
is amended— 
(1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by 
inserting after the first sentence the following: ‘‘This 
information should be provided as expeditiously, ef-
fectively, and efficiently as possible while maintain-
ing a forward-looking, holistic, and rigorous ap-
proach to the assessment of the impacts of tech-
nology.’’; 
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(2) in paragraph (6), by striking ‘‘completed 
analyses’’ and inserting ‘‘completed analyses, as well 
as preliminary findings of ongoing analyses,’’; 
(3) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 
(7); 
(4) by striking the period at the end of para-
graph (8) and inserting a semicolon; and 
(5) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraphs: 
‘‘(9) provide information to Members and com-
mittees of Congress in the form of briefings, infor-
mal conversations, documents, and similar formats 
which may be provided expeditiously on the basis of 
existing research and staff expertise without the 
need for review by the Board; 
‘‘(10) provide technical assistance to Members 
of Congress on legislation related to science and 
technology which may be provided expeditiously on 
the basis of existing research and staff expertise 
without the need for review by the Board; and 
‘‘(11) when requested, provide objective policy 
options to Members on how Members may achieve 
goals with respect to science and technology policy.’’. 
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(b) REQUIREMENTS
FOR INITIATION
OF ASSESS-
MENT ACTIVITIES.—Section 3(d) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 
472(d)) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(d)(1) Assessment activities undertaken by the Of-
fice may be initiated upon the request of— 
‘‘(A) subject to paragraph (2), any Member of 
Congress (including a Delegate or Resident Commis-
sioner to the Congress), any standing, special, or se-
lect committee of either House of Congress, or any 
joint committee of Congress; 
‘‘(B) the Board; or 
‘‘(C) the Director, in consultation with the 
Board. 
‘‘(2) A Member of Congress or committee requesting 
that the Office undertake an assessment activity under 
paragraph (1)(A) shall submit the request to the Board, 
which shall review the request. The Office shall determine 
whether or not to undertake an assessment activity in re-
sponse to such a request in accordance with such policies 
and procedures as the Office shall establish, under 
which— 
‘‘(A) the Office may give priority to those re-
quests which, in the Board’s determination, relate to 
technology issues of the greatest relevance and im-
portance; 
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‘‘(B) to the greatest extent practicable, the Of-
fice shall ensure that the number of assessment ac-
tivities undertaken during a year in response to re-
quests which are submitted by members of one polit-
ical party is equal to the number of assessment ac-
tivities undertaken in response to requests which are 
submitted by members of another political party; 
and 
‘‘(C) to the greatest extent practicable, the Of-
fice shall provide the Member or committee submit-
ting the request with information regarding how the 
Office reached its determination in response to the 
request.’’. 
(c) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF FINDINGS OF COM-
PLETED ANALYSES.—Section 3(e) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 
472(e)) is amended by inserting after ‘‘may be made avail-
able to the public’’ the following: ‘‘(and, in the case of 
findings of completed analyses, shall be made available to 
the public)’’. 
(d) AUTHORIZING APPOINTMENT
OF TECHNICAL 
AND PROFESSIONAL PERSONNEL ON LEAVE FROM ACA-
DEMIC, INDUSTRIAL, OR RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS.—Sec-
tion 6(f) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 475(f)) is amended by add-
ing at the end the following new sentence: ‘‘The Director 
may, under the authority provided by this subsection and 
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in accordance with such policies as the Board chooses to 
prescribe, appoint for a limited term, or on a temporary 
basis, scientists, engineers, and other technical and profes-
sional personnel on leave of absence from academic, indus-
trial, or research institutions to work for the Office.’’. 
(e) AVOIDING UNNECESSARY DUPLICATION OF RE-
SEARCH ACTIVITIES WITH OTHER OFFICES.— 
(1) CONGRESSIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE.—Sec-
tion 8 of such Act (2 U.S.C. 477) is amended by 
adding at the end the following new subsection: 
‘‘(e) The Office and the Congressional Research Serv-
ice shall coordinate technology assessment activities to 
avoid unnecessary duplication or overlapping of research 
activities.’’. 
(2) GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE.— 
Section 9 of such Act (2 U.S.C. 478) is amended by 
adding at the end the following new subsection: 
‘‘(e) The Office and the Government Accountability 
Office shall coordinate technology assessment activities to 
avoid unnecessary duplication or overlapping of research 
activities.’’. 
SEC. 4. TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT BOARD. 
(a) APPOINTMENT OF MEMBERS OF BOARD BY CON-
GRESSIONAL LEADERSHIP.—Section 4(a) of the Tech-
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nology Assessment Act of 1972 (2 U.S.C. 473) is amend-
ed— 
(1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘appointed by 
the President pro tempore of the Senate’’ and in-
serting ‘‘appointed jointly by the Majority Leader 
and the Minority Leader of the Senate’’; and 
(2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘appointed by 
the Speaker of the House of Representatives’’ and 
inserting ‘‘appointed jointly by the Speaker and Mi-
nority Leader of the House of Representatives’’. 
(b) INVITATION TO MEMBERS OF CONGRESS TO AT-
TEND ANNUAL MEETING OF TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT 
BOARD; ANNUAL REPORT.—Section 4 of such Act (2 
U.S.C. 473) is amended by adding at the end the following 
new subsections: 
‘‘(e) At least once during each calendar year, the 
Board shall hold a meeting at which Members of Congress 
may appear and present information to the Board regard-
ing any technology assessment activities the Members may 
wish the Board to undertake. 
‘‘(f) Not later than 90 days after the end of each cal-
endar year, the Board shall submit to the Subcommittees 
on the Legislative Branch of the Committees on Appro-
priations of the House of Representatives and Senate a 
report on the activities of the Office during the year, and 
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shall include in the report a description of the technology 
assessment activities undertaken by the Office during the 
year, including the number of requests received from 
Members and committees of Congress under section 
2(d)(1)(A), the number and type of assessment activities 
undertaken in response to such requests, and the current 
status of such assessment activities.’’. 
Æ 
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