Office of Technology Assessment, United States Congress, science, technology, policy
By Eric Meade | The Extreme Future | November 2008
A blog entry predicts that the new administration will have a new approach to the future and will revive the tradition of government foresight. It mentions several forward-looking programs from the 1970’s, including the Office of Technology Assessment, Congressional Clearinghouse on the Future, and a 1974 requirement of the House Select Committee on Committees that each standing committee undertake futures research and forecasting.
By Paul Light | Roll Call | November 20, 2008
An article about the threat to some of our country’s greatest achievements by a recent lack of investment in the infrastructure of government. It makes three suggestions for the new Congress: 1) create a new office similar to the disbanded Office of Technology Assessment -perhaps the “Office of Long-Range Analysis,” 2) set in place updates to decisions to be “triggered” later by new information, and 3) find the courage to look into the future and tackle the issues coming at us.
A 1990 OTA report, Electronic Bulls and Bears: U.S. Securities Markets and Information Technology, notes that “Computer-assisted trading strategies can cause short-term price volatility, or spread selling or buying pressure from one market to others.” The report was written in response to requests by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and the House Committee on Government Operations to assess the role of communication and information technologies in the securities markets.
OTA said, “Futures and options markets are criticized for developing products that are suspected of increasing the likelihood of a market crash. These problems call for a re-examination of public policies including changes in the regulatory structure.” The report also states, “The private sector cannot achieve, without government assistance, some of the necessary adjustments to keep American markets strongly competitive and to protect American investors and financial systems.”
In another 1990 report, Trading Around the Clock: Global Securities Markets and Information Technology, OTA describes the forces encouraging the development of international securities markets, the obstacles that must be overcome, and the major sources of unnecessary risk. The report describes three possible international regulatory schemes and states, “Effective response to a major securities market break will in the future require international as well as domestic actions. The central issue may be how to prevent a liquidity crisis from becoming a solvency crisis.”
In a 1984 report, Effects of Information Technology on Financial Services Systems, OTA described new technologies and other changes in the financial service industry and warned that in large amounts of funds were being moved from accounts that are insured and closely supervised to accounts that offer higher return but have little, if any, Federal protection. This report was part of a study requested in 1982 by the House Committee on Banking, Finance, and Urban Affairs; the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. The committees requested OTA to study the impacts of information processing and telecommunication technologies on financial service systems.
By Curtis Petty | Active Rain | October 13, 2008
A real estate blog entry discusses “prudent avoidance” of electric and magnetic fields and credits an OTA report, Biological Effects of Power Frequency: Electric and Magnetic Field. This May 1989 background paper (p. 77) suggests several approaches to risk assessment and regulation of electric and magnetic fields.
By Marylaine Block | On The Same Page | August 29, 2008
A Sweetwater County library, Wyoming, blog mentions the FAS OTA Archive.
By Linda Garcia | Exploring Interdisciplinarity | September 14, 2008
This blog post discusses examples of how some political leaders have used “…the work of scientists to cloak private interests in what is ostensibly value free analysis.” What may be needed is more value added science, exemplified by OTA’s and the National Academy of Sciences’ work which is “… the product of a dialogue among diverse actors–hard scientists, social scientists, and value based interests alike.”