OTA Reports, 1972 – 1979

The Congressional Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) closed on September 29, 1995. During its 23-year history, OTA provided Congressional members and committees with analyses of the scientific and technological issues that were increasingly relevant to public policy and legislative action.

OTA occupied a unique role among the Congressional information agencies. Unlike the General Accounting Office, which is primarily concerned with evaluation of ongoing programs, and the Congressional Research Service, which provides rapid information on legislative topics, OTA provided a deeper, more comprehensive, and more technical level of analysis. Through eleven Congressional sessions, OTA became a key resource for Congressional members and staff confronting technological issues in crafting public policy. Its existence brought a healthy balance to the analytical resources available to the executive and legislative branches of government.

The agency’s legacy is found in the many items of legislation it influenced and in the channels of communication its staff helped foster between legislative policymakers and members of the scientific, technical, and business communities.

The Black Vault has archived here the complete collection of reports and data issued by the OTA. Clicking on any document below will take you directly to the report, all in .pdf format. This collection holds 110,670 pages in total.

 

1979

1. Analysis of Laws Governing Access Across Federal Lands: Options for Access in Alaska
2. Annual Report to the Congress for 1978
3. Benefits of Increased Use of Continuous Casting by the U.S. Steel Industry
4. Computer Technology in Medical Education and Assessment
5. The Direct Use of Coal
6. Drugs in Livestock Feed
7. The Effects of Nuclear War
8. Environmental Contaminants in Food
9. Gasohol
10. Management of Fuel and Nonfuel Minerals in Federal Land
11. Materials and Energy From Municipal Waste
12. Open Shelf-Life Dating of Food
13. OTA Priorities 1979, With Brief Descriptions of Priorities and of Assessments in Progress
14. Pest Management Strategies in Crop Protection
15. Railroad Safety-U.S.-Canadian Comparison
16. Residential Energy Conservation
17. A Review of Selected Federal Vaccine and Immunization Policies, Based on Case Studies of Pneumococcal Vaccine
18. Selected Topics in Federal Health Statistics
19. Technical Options for Conservation of Metals: Case Studies of Selected Metals and Products
20. Technology and East-West Trade
21. Technology Assessment of Changes in the Future Use and Characteristics of the Automobile Transportation System-Volume II: Technical Report
22. Technology Assessment of Changes in the Future Use and Characteristics of the Automobile Transportation System-Volume III: Public Participation
23. Technology Assessment of Changes in the Future Use and Characteristics of the Automobile Transportation System-Volume I: Summary and Findings

 

1978

1. An Analysis of the ERDA Plan and Program
2. Annual Report to the Congress for 1977
3. Application of Solar Technology to Today’s Energy Needs-Vol. I
4. Application of Solar Technology to Today’s Energy Needs-Vol. II
5. Applications of R&D in the Civil Sector: The Opportunity Provided by the Federal Grant and Cooperative Agreement Act of 1977
6. Assessing the Efficacy and Safety of Medical Technologies
7. Emerging Food Marketing Technologies: A Preliminary Analysis
8. Enhanced Oil Recovery Potential in the United States
9. An Evaluation of Railroad Safety
10. Government Involvement in the Innovation Process: A Contractor’s Report to the Office of Technology Assessment
11. The Health of the Scientific and Technical Enterprise: An Advisory Panel Report to the Office of Technology Assessment
12. Impact of a Department of Education on Federal Science and Technology Activities
13. Nutrition Research Alternatives
14. Policy Implications of the Computed Tomography (CT) Scanner
15. A Preliminary Assessment of the National Crime Information Center and the Computerized Criminal History System
16. Renewable Ocean Energy Sources: Part I-Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion
17. The Role of Demonstrations in Federal R&D Policy
18. A Technology Assessment of Coal Slurry Pipelines 

1977

1. Analysis of the Proposed National Energy Plan
2. Annual Report to the Congress by the Office of Technology Assessment: March 15, 1977
3. Cancer Testing Technology and Saccharin
4. Engineering Implications of Chronic Materials Scarcity
5. Establishing a 200-Mile Fisheries Zone
6. Nuclear Proliferation and Safeguards
7. Nuclear Proliferation and Safeguards: Appendix Volume II, Part One
8. Nuclear Proliferation and Safeguards: Appendix Volume II, Part Two
9. Organizing and Financing Basic Research To Increase Food Production
10. Perspectives on Federal Retail Food Grading
11. Policy Implications of Medical Information Systems
12. A Preliminary Analysis of the IRS Tax Administration System
13. Status Report on the Gas Potential From Devonian Shales of the Appalachian Basin
14. Technology Assessment in Business and Government
15. Transportation of Liquefied Natural Gas

 

1976

1. Annual Report to the Congress by the Office of Technology Assessment: March 15, 1976
2. An Assessment of Alternative Economic Stockpiling Policies
3. Assessment of Community Planning for Mass Transit: Volume 10-Washington, D.C. Case Study
4. Assessment of Community Planning for Mass Transit: Volume 11-Technical Report
5. Assessment of Community Planning for Mass Transit: Volume 12-Bibliography
6. Assessment of Community Planning for Mass Transit: Volume 2-Atlanta Case Study
7. Assessment of Community Planning for Mass Transit: Volume 3-Boston Case Study
8. Assessment of Community Planning for Mass Transit: Volume 4-Chicago Case Study
9. Assessment of Community Planning for Mass Transit: Volume 5-Denver Case Study
10. Assessment of Community Planning for Mass Transit: Volume 6-Los Angeles Case Study
11. Assessment of Community Planning for Mass Transit: Volume 7-Minneapolis-St. Paul Case Study
12. Assessment of Community Planning for Mass Transit: Volume 8-San Francisco Case Study
13. Assessment of Community Planning for Mass Transit: Volume 9-Seattle Case Study
14. An Assessment of Information Systems Capabilities Required To Support U.S. Materials Policy Decisions
15. Automatic Train Control in Rail Rapid Transit
16. Coastal Effects of Offshore Energy Systems: An Assessment of Oil and Gas Systems, Deepwater Ports, and Nuclear Powerplants Off the Coasts of New Jersey and Delaware
17. Comparative Analysis of the 1976 ERDA Plan and Program
18. Development of Medical Technology: Opportunities for Assessment
19. The Feasibility and Value of Broadband Communications in Rural Areas: A Preliminary Evaluation
20. Food Information Systems
21. Food Information Systems: Summary and Analysis
22. A Review of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: Environmental Research Outlook FY 1976 Through 1980
23. Technology Assessment Activities in the Industrial, Academic, and Governmental Communities 

1975

1. Analysis of the Feasibility of Separating Exploration From Production of Oil and Gas on the Outer Continental Shelf
2. Analysis of the Impacts of the Projected Natural Gas Curtailments for the Winter 1975-76
3. Annual Report to the Congress by the Office of Technology Assessment: March 15, 1975
4. Automated Guideway Transit: An Assessment of PRT and Other New Systems
5. Automobile Collision Data: An Assessment of Needs and Methods of Acquisition
6. Energy, the Economy, and Mass Transit
7. Financial Viability of Conrail: Review and Analysis
8. Oil Transportation by Tankers: An Analysis of Marine Pollution and Safety Measures
9. A Review of Alternative Approaches to Federal Funding of Rail Rehabilitation
10. A Review of National Railroad Issues

 

1974

1. Annual Report to the Congress by the Office of Technology Assessment: March 15, 1974
2. Drug Bioequivalence
3. Requirements for Fulfilling a National Materials Policy

 

1972

1. The Technology Assessment Act of 1972