<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><BillSummaries>
<item congress="116" measure-type="s" measure-number="2509" measure-id="id116s2509" originChamber="SENATE" orig-publish-date="2019-09-19" update-date="2021-05-26">
<title>Office of Technology Assessment Improvement and Enhancement Act</title>
<summary summary-id="id116s2509v00" currentChamber="SENATE" update-date="2021-05-26">
<action-date>2019-09-19</action-date>
<action-desc>Introduced in Senate</action-desc>
<summary-text><![CDATA[<p><b>Office of Technology Assessment Improvement and Enhancement Act</b></p> <p>This bill renames and revises the functions and duties of the Office of Technology Assessment which, composed of a Technology Assessment Board and a director, provides Congress with assessments of probable technology application impacts.</p> <p>Specifically, the bill renames the office the Congressional Office of Technology, and it requires the office to undertake additional duties, such as providing to Members of Congress (1) certain information without the need for board review, (2) certain technical assistance on legislation related to science and technology without the need for board review, and (3) objective policy options on how Members may achieve goals with respect to science and technology policy.</p> <p>The bill authorizes Members of Congress to submit to the board a request that the office undertake an assessment activity. Additionally, the bill requires the Congressional Research Service and the Government Accountability Office to coordinate technology assessment activities with the office to avoid duplication or overlapping of research activities.</p> <p>The office may temporarily appoint specified technical and professional personnel to work for the office, and the office must also make the findings of completed analyses publicly available.</p> <p>The bill also (1) revises the appointment of board members, (2) requires the board to hold an annual meeting at which Members of Congress may appear and present information regarding technology assessment activities, and (3) requires the board to report annually on the activities of the office. </p>]]></summary-text>
</summary>
</item>
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<dc:language>EN</dc:language>
<dc:rights>Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.</dc:rights>
<dc:contributor>Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress</dc:contributor>
<dc:description>This file contains bill summaries for federal legislation. A bill summary describes the most significant provisions of a piece of legislation and details the effects the legislative text may have on current law and federal programs. Bill summaries are authored by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) of the Library of Congress. As stated in Public Law 91-510 (2 USC 166 (d)(6)), one of the duties of CRS is "to prepare summaries and digests of bills and resolutions of a public general nature introduced in the Senate or House of Representatives". For more information, refer to the User Guide that accompanies this file.</dc:description>
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