1500 



are not forthcoming from the executive branch, it is possible that 

 strengthened institutional resources of the Congress itself could 

 -supply at least some of the needed policy analyses and options for 

 these big problems. 



Congressional Institutions for Technical Foreign Policy Planning 

 In the last anal3''sis the Constitution vests in the Congress of the 

 United States a large share of decisionmaking power on foreign as well 

 as domestic affairs. Senatorial assent is the sine qua non of treaty- 

 making. The power of the purse defines congressional control over 

 all positive actions and programs of the Federal Government, foreign 

 as well as domestic. The control of foreign trade and international 

 transfers of persons, no less than the regulation of armed forces and 

 the right to declare war, rests in the Congress. 



Although this stud}?^ has dealt mainly with the institutions of the 

 executive branch, and has discussed at length the policymaking ele- 

 ments of that branch in the interaction of science and technology 

 with diplomacy, the subject of congressional decisionmaking in this 

 field also demands attention. Perhaps the most salient question is 

 Avhether the Congress should rely mainly on policy studies and recom- 

 mendations of the executive branch, or whether these sources should 

 l»e supplemented by information and analyses by competent author- 

 ites directly and exclusively responsible to the Congress. 



CONGRESSIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE 



On several recent occasions the Congress has acted to augment its 

 own committee staffs, and to create or expand research institutions 

 to supplement its own staff resources with other professional expertise. 

 One such action was the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970 ^^^ 

 that changed the name of the Legislative Reference Service to Con- 

 gressional Research Service, and under section 203(d)(1) made it 

 responsible (excerpt) : 



. . . upon request, to advise and assist any committee of the Senate or House of 

 Representatives and any joint committee of Congress in the analysis, appraisal, 

 and evaluation of legislative proposals within that committee's jurisdiction, or 

 of recommendations submitted to Congress, by the President or any executive 

 agency, so as to assist the committee in -^ 



(A) determining the advisability of enacting such proposals; 



(B) estimating the probable results of such proposals and alternatives thereto; 

 and 



(C) evaluating alternative methods for accomplishing those results; 



and by providing such other research and analytical services as the committee 

 considers appropriate for these purposes, otherwise to assist in furnishing a basis 

 for the proper evaluation and determination of legislative proposals and recom- 

 mendations generally . . . 



Under this and other authorities conferred by this act, th^ Con- 

 gressional Research Service has substantially expanded its professional 

 personnel, and the range of studies "in depth" it performs at the 

 request of congressional committees. Moreover, a positive effort has 

 been made in CRS to develop an interdisciplinary approach to the 

 study of larger subjects and problems, and to introduce futures 

 research and forecasting as a discipline applicable to all public policy 

 areas. Given this resource in being, might consideration be given to 



J« Public Law 91-510, approved October 23, 1970. 



