516 



selves into scientists and en^ineeT-s. It does su^rgest that every teclmical 

 decision that provides the underpinning: for a major ]')olitical decision 

 should receive adennate professional consideration, and that the out- 

 come and its justification need to be expressed in terms meanino^ful 

 to those responsible for tlie political decision. It is, of course, a matter 

 of judgment as to how much time to devote to any particular technical 

 issue, alwavs beino; mindful that the conirressional day is already des- 

 perately short. But it is also true that the quality of the decision on a 

 technical issue depends on the quality of the preparation for examin- 

 ino; the issue, the number of different — and differins: — qualified "wit- 

 nesses presenting their views about it, the variety of different ways in 

 which testimony is obtained, the length of time the issue remains ex- 

 posed to professional debate, and the leno-th of time the assembled evi- 

 dence remains under evaluation by a staff that is familiar with the dis- 

 cipline, steeped in the testimonv, aud skilled in analvtical techniques. 

 Further discussion of the problem of achievinsf completeness of infor- 

 mation is presented, in term^s of (1 ) the functions of the cono-ressional 

 staff, (2) the classes of witnesses helpful to provide information on a 

 technical issue, (3) useful modes of information gathering, (4) the 

 process of data analysis, and (5) the iterative nature of the total infor- 

 mation-gathering process. 



Staff Functions 



The fimctions of the conqressional staff in the collection of informa- 

 tion bearinff on a technical issue clearlv imi^lv that i\\^ staff needs to 

 have, collectively, a demanding arrav of qualifi.cations. It must be fa- 

 miliar with the political context of the issue, and also with the techni- 

 cal context. It can advantageously briug a multidisf^iplinary outlook 

 into the process. It needs skills of technical analysis, and a capacity 

 for filtering out nonessentials. A knowledo-e of the social or<ranization 

 and hierarchies of relevant technical disciplines is indispensable. 

 Equinped with these resources, the staff is able to perform the essential 

 functions of insuring completness of assessment and resolution of the 

 technical issue, which include the following elements: 



n) Identification of the essential technical issue involved; 



(2) Identification of the sub=idiarv technical issues; 



(-*>) Establishment of the political importance of resolving the 

 technical issue; 



(4) Preparation of an initial studv or staff report containing 

 appraisal, analysis, and definition of scope of the technical issue; 



(5) Identification of witnesses best able to conti-ibute informa- 

 tion (meeting established criteria) pertinent to the technical 

 issue; 



('fi) Tvecommendation for appropriate modes of information 

 gathering; 



(7) Participation as consultants in the process of information 

 exclianrre to insure that all pertinent questions are asked and that 

 responsive answers are received : 



(fi) Analysis of information received, to determine its com- 

 pleteness; 



(0) Procurement of further required information, outside eval- 

 uations, corrected testimony, and supplementary statements; 



