564 HISTORY OF THl COMMITTE1 ON SCIENC1 AND TECHNOLOGY 



committee of Congress by holding hearings, and act more as a 

 policymaker for OTA. Whether or not by coincidence, the Board 

 ceased holding hearings of that character in the future. 



THE TEAGUE REPORT 



As Tcague ncarcd the end of his term as Chairman of the Tech- 

 nology Assessment Board, he made a report in December 1976 which 

 reflected on the past and future of OTA He also indicated that after 

 he left the Board chairmanship, he intended for the Science Committee 

 in 197" to hold comprehensive hearings on OTA and its components. 

 In his 19~6 final report, Teaguc pointedly remarked that when the 

 basic legislation had been considered in 1972, the Science Committee 

 "never recommended or intended" an all-congressional Board. Public 

 members on the Board would have obviated the necessity for a separate 

 Advisory Council. Teague added in his candid report: 



There is little doubt that a number of the difficulties which have confronted 

 OTA thus far — certain managerial problems as well as the Board's disposition to think 

 and act on occasion as a joint committee rather than a board of directors — can be 

 directly traced to deviations from the original plan. Of course, the original plan would 

 have produced its own set of hurdles — whether more or less we do not know. Most 

 impartial students of OTA seeem to think the original concept offered less chance for 

 polarization, whether on the basis of political party or the basis of Senate vs. House, 

 as well as less political motivation in personnel and appointments and in the choice 

 and evaluation of assessments. Obviously, this is speculation. 



Daddario resigned as OTA Director in May 1977. Even before the 

 new Director, former Governor Russell W. Peterson of Delaware, 

 was appointed in January 1978, the subcommittee opened hearings in 

 August of 1977. Thornton, the new subcommittee chairman, stated on 

 August 3: 



Our purpose in these hearings is to review OTA's Organic Act and determine if it 

 needs alteration based on OTA's experience thus far. To do this we need to inquire into 

 the concept of technology assessment as used in the work of Congress and how the 

 office established to assist the committees of the Congress in this field is discharging 

 the duties assigned to it. 



After the August congressional recess, Chairman Thornton 

 scheduled seven days of hearings in September and October 1977. In 

 announcing these hearings, Thornton commented: 



Since OTA was established by Congress in 1972, the Office had conducted over 40 

 major technology assessments for the committees of the House and Senate. Most 

 recently the OTA has provided an in-depth review of all aspects of the President's 

 energy proposals, has completed assessments of cancer testing technology, off-shore 

 oil recovery, the effects ot limited nuclear war, the future availability of imported 

 materials, utility ot auto crash recorders, and agricultural research, among others. 



