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.
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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
- Analysis of Laws Governing Access Across Federal Lands: Options for Access in Alaska
- Annual Report to the Congress for 1978
- Benefits of Increased Use of Continuous Casting by the U.S. Steel Industry
- Computer Technology in Medical Education and Assessment
- The Direct Use of Coal
- Drugs in Livestock Feed
- The Effects of Nuclear War
- Environmental Contaminants in Food
- Gasohol
- Management of Fuel and Nonfuel Minerals in Federal Land
- Materials and Energy From Municipal Waste
- Open Shelf-Life Dating of Food
- OTA Priorities 1979, With Brief Descriptions of Priorities and of Assessments in Progress
- Pest Management Strategies in Crop Protection
- Railroad Safety-U.S.-Canadian Comparison
- Residential Energy Conservation
- A Review of Selected Federal Vaccine and Immunization Policies, Based on Case Studies of Pneumococcal Vaccine
- Selected Topics in Federal Health Statistics
- Technical Options for Conservation of Metals: Case Studies of Selected Metals and Products
- Technology and East-West Trade
- Technology Assessment of Changes in the Future Use and Characteristics of the Automobile Transportation System-Volume II: Technical Report
- Technology Assessment of Changes in the Future Use and Characteristics of the Automobile Transportation System-Volume III: Public Participation
- Technology Assessment of Changes in the Future Use and Characteristics of the Automobile Transportation System-Volume I: Summary and Findings
1978
- An Analysis of the ERDA Plan and Program
- Annual Report to the Congress for 1977
- Application of Solar Technology to Today’s Energy Needs-Vol. I
- Application of Solar Technology to Today’s Energy Needs-Vol. II
- Applications of R&D in the Civil Sector: The Opportunity Provided by the Federal Grant and Cooperative Agreement Act of 1977
- Assessing the Efficacy and Safety of Medical Technologies
- Emerging Food Marketing Technologies: A Preliminary Analysis
- Enhanced Oil Recovery Potential in the United States
- An Evaluation of Railroad Safety
- Government Involvement in the Innovation Process: A Contractor’s Report to the Office of Technology Assessment
- The Health of the Scientific and Technical Enterprise: An Advisory Panel Report to the Office of Technology Assessment
- Impact of a Department of Education on Federal Science and Technology Activities
- Nutrition Research Alternatives
- Policy Implications of the Computed Tomography (CT) Scanner
- A Preliminary Assessment of the National Crime Information Center and the Computerized Criminal History System
- Renewable Ocean Energy Sources: Part I-Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion
- The Role of Demonstrations in Federal R&D Policy
- A Technology Assessment of Coal Slurry Pipelines
1977
- Analysis of the Proposed National Energy Plan
- Annual Report to the Congress by the Office of Technology Assessment: March 15, 1977
- Cancer Testing Technology and Saccharin
- Engineering Implications of Chronic Materials Scarcity
- Establishing a 200-Mile Fisheries Zone
- Nuclear Proliferation and Safeguards
- Nuclear Proliferation and Safeguards: Appendix Volume II, Part One
- Nuclear Proliferation and Safeguards: Appendix Volume II, Part Two
- Organizing and Financing Basic Research To Increase Food Production
- Perspectives on Federal Retail Food Grading
- Policy Implications of Medical Information Systems
- A Preliminary Analysis of the IRS Tax Administration System
- Status Report on the Gas Potential From Devonian Shales of the Appalachian Basin
- Technology Assessment in Business and Government
- Transportation of Liquefied Natural Gas
1976
- Annual Report to the Congress by the Office of Technology Assessment: March 15, 1976
- An Assessment of Alternative Economic Stockpiling Policies
- Assessment of Community Planning for Mass Transit: Volume 10-Washington, D.C. Case Study
- Assessment of Community Planning for Mass Transit: Volume 11-Technical Report
- Assessment of Community Planning for Mass Transit: Volume 12-Bibliography
- Assessment of Community Planning for Mass Transit: Volume 2-Atlanta Case Study
- Assessment of Community Planning for Mass Transit: Volume 3-Boston Case Study
- Assessment of Community Planning for Mass Transit: Volume 4-Chicago Case Study
- Assessment of Community Planning for Mass Transit: Volume 5-Denver Case Study
- Assessment of Community Planning for Mass Transit: Volume 6-Los Angeles Case Study
- Assessment of Community Planning for Mass Transit: Volume 7-Minneapolis-St. Paul Case Study
- Assessment of Community Planning for Mass Transit: Volume 8-San Francisco Case Study
- Assessment of Community Planning for Mass Transit: Volume 9-Seattle Case Study
- An Assessment of Information Systems Capabilities Required To Support U.S. Materials Policy Decisions
- Automatic Train Control in Rail Rapid Transit
- 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
- Comparative Analysis of the 1976 ERDA Plan and Program
- Development of Medical Technology: Opportunities for Assessment
- The Feasibility and Value of Broadband Communications in Rural Areas: A Preliminary Evaluation
- Food Information Systems
- Food Information Systems: Summary and Analysis
- A Review of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: Environmental Research Outlook FY 1976 Through 1980
- Technology Assessment Activities in the Industrial, Academic, and Governmental Communities
1975
- Analysis of the Feasibility of Separating Exploration From Production of Oil and Gas on the Outer Continental Shelf
- Analysis of the Impacts of the Projected Natural Gas Curtailments for the Winter 1975-76
- Annual Report to the Congress by the Office of Technology Assessment: March 15, 1975
- Automated Guideway Transit: An Assessment of PRT and Other New Systems
- Automobile Collision Data: An Assessment of Needs and Methods of Acquisition
- Energy, the Economy, and Mass Transit
- Financial Viability of Conrail: Review and Analysis
- Oil Transportation by Tankers: An Analysis of Marine Pollution and Safety Measures
- A Review of Alternative Approaches to Federal Funding of Rail Rehabilitation
- A Review of National Railroad Issues
1974
- Annual Report to the Congress by the Office of Technology Assessment: March 15, 1974
- Drug Bioequivalence
- Requirements for Fulfilling a National Materials Policy
1972
- The Technology Assessment Act of 1972
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This post was published on March 1, 2015 6:28 pm