[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 5]
[House]
[Page 6001]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  THE OFFICE OF TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT

  (Mr. McNERNEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. McNERNEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to talk about the Office of 
Technology Assessment, the OTA.
  For 22 years, the OTA was a key nonpartisan resource for Congress as 
it dealt with scientific and technical policy issues. The OTA was 
overseen by a Technical Advisory Board composed of six Senators and six 
Representatives, evenly split between the two parties.
  The OTA was able to provide easy-to-understand explanations of 
complex scientific issues. For example, in 1988, the OTA provided a 
study called ``Healthy Children: Investing in the Future,'' showing 
that infants with low birth weights were more susceptible to a variety 
of physical and mental disabilities. This study helped change Medicaid 
eligibility rules by expanding access to prenatal care to millions of 
women, saving lives and taxpayer money. This, and other reports, 
provided the information needed to make reasonable policy based on 
scientific results.
  This Congress needs scientific guidance, and I urge my colleagues to 
join me in calling for the reestablishment of the Office of Technology 
Assessment.

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