In the News Legislators struggle with tech. That’s why we need the Office of Technology Assessment.
Some believe that altering the GAO’s tech assessment program could bring Congress all the benefits OTA used to offer, and that doing so would be politically easier than recreating a separate office. GAO says it is starting to make changes. Yet GAO’s institutional culture centers on audits and investigations, and it lacks the hallmarks of OTA in its heyday. Those include a larger permanent staff of subject experts with whom legislators can build relationships, as well as the independence to better compete for resources.
