W
hen Congress eliminated funding for The Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) nineteen years ago it was described as Congress giving itself a lobotomy. Very few members of Congress are trained in science and consequently avoid the subject. One Congressman with serious science bona fides is urging that something like the OTA be reinstituted. Representative Rush Holt of New Jersey has a Ph.D in physics, taught physics at Swarthmore College, was assistant director of the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory and worked as an arms control expert at the State Department.
In an Op-Ed piece in Wired Science, Holt mentioned President Obama’s declaration during his inaugural address that we will “restore science to its rightful place.” He commented that the President has placed science and scientific process at the heart of his public policy and decision making.
“Every member of Congress,” Holt emphasized, “needs access to unbiased technical and scientific assessments finished in a time frame appropriate for Congress, written in a language that is understood by members of Congress, and crafted by those who are familiar with the functions of Congress.”
“The issues have grown more complex,” Holt pointed out, “but our tools to evaluate and understand them have not kept pace.”
“While members of Congress do not suffer from a lack of information,” he wrote, “we lack time and resources to assess the validity, credibility, and usefulness of the large amount of scientific information and advice we receive as it affects actual policy decisions.”
The OTA, while it existed, both provided an important long-term perspective and alerted Congress to scientific and technological components of policy that might not be obvious. Holt contends that no group or combination of groups has been able to assume OTA’s place as a provider of scientific and technical assessment and advice to Congress.