89 



applications, and 



(2) the present mechanisms of the Congress 

 do not and are not designed to provide the legis- 

 lative branch with such information. 

 (d> Accordingly, it is necessary for the Congress 



(1) equip itself with new and effective means 

 for securing competent, unbiased information 

 concerning the physical, biological, economic, 

 social, and political effects of such applications: 

 and 



(2) utilize this information, whenever appro- 

 priate, as one factor in the legislative assessment 

 of matters pending before the Congress, par- 

 ticularly in those instances where the Federal 



■ Government may be called upon to consider sup- 

 port for. or management or regulation of. tech- 

 nological applications. 

 (Pub. L. 92-484, § 2, Oct. 13, 1972, 86 Stat. 797.) 



§ 472. Office of Technology Assessment. 



(a) Creation. 



In accordance with the findings and declaration of 

 purpose in section 471 of this title, there is hereby 

 created the Office of Technology Assessment (here- 

 inafter referred to as the "Office") which shall be 

 within and responsible to the legislative branch of 

 the Government. 



(b) Composition. 



The Office shall consist of a Technology Assess- 

 ment Board (hereinafter referred to as the "Board") 

 which shall formulate and promulgate the policies of 

 the Office, and a Director who shall carry out such 

 policies and administer the operations of the Office. 



(c) Functions and duties. 



The basic function of the Office shall be to provide 

 early indications of the probable beneficial and ad- 

 verse impacts of the applications of technology and 

 to develop other coordinate information which may 

 assist the Congress. In carrying oi!t such function, 

 the Office shall : 



( 1 ) identify existing or probable impacts of 

 technology or technological programs; 



(2) where Fwssible, ascertain cause-and-effect 

 relationships; 



(3) identify alternative technological methods 

 of implementing specific programs; 



(4) identify alternative programs for achiev- 

 ing requisite goals; 



(5) make estimates and comparisons of the 

 impacts of alternative methods and programs; 



(6) present findings of completed analyses to 

 the appropriate legislative authorities; 



( 7 1 identify areas where additional research 

 or data collection is required to provide ade- 

 quate support for the assessments and estimates 

 described in paragraph (1) through (5) of this 

 subsection; and 



(8) undertake such additional associated ac- 

 tivities as the appropriate authorities specified 

 under subsection (d) of this section may direct. 



(d) Initiation of assessment activities. 

 Assessment activities undertaken by the Office 



may be initiated upon the request of: 



(1) the chairman of any standing, special, 

 or select committee of either House of the Con- 

 gress, or of any joint committee of the Con- 

 gress, acting for himself or at the request of the 

 ranking minority member or a majority of the 

 committee members; 



(2) the Board; or 



(3) the Director, in consultation with the 

 Board. 



(e) .Vvailability of information. 



Assessments made by the Office, including infor- 

 mation, surveys, studies, reports, and findings re- 

 lated thereto, shall be made available to the initiat- 

 ing committee or other appropriate committees of 

 the Congress. In addition, any such information, 

 surveys, studies, reports, and findings produced by 

 the Office may be made available to the public ex- 

 cept where — 



(1) to do so would violate security statutes; 

 or 



(2) the Board considers it necessary or ad- 

 visable to withhold such information in accord- 

 ance with one or more of the numbered para- 

 graphs in section 552(b) of Title 5. 



(Pub. L. 92-484, § 3, Oct. 13, 1972, 86 Stat. 797.) 



§ 473. Technology Assessment Board. 



(a) Membership. 



The Board shall consist of thirteen members as 

 follows; 



(1) six Members of the Senate, appointed by 

 the President pro tempore of the Senate, three 

 from the majority party and three from the 

 minority party; 



(2) six Members of the House of Representa- 

 tives appointed by the Speaker of the House of 

 Representatives, three from the majority party 

 and three from the minority party; and 



(3) the Director, who shall not be a voting 

 member. 



(b) Execution of functions during vacancies; filling of 

 vacancies. 



Vacancies in the membership of the Board shall 

 not affect the power of the remaining members to 

 execute the functions of the Board and shall be filled 

 in the same manner as in the case of the original 

 appointment. 



(c) Chairman and vice chairman; selection procedure. 

 The Board shall select a chairman and a vice 



chairman from among its members at the beginning 

 of each Congress. The vice chairman shall act in the 

 place and stead of the chairman in the absence of 

 the chairman. The chairmanship and the vice chair- 

 manship shall alternate between the Senate and the 

 House of Representatives with each Congress. The 

 chairman during each even -numbered Congress shall 

 be selected by the Members of the House of Repre- 

 sentatives on the Board from among their number. 

 The vice chairman during each Congress shall be 

 chosen in the same manner from that House of Con- 

 gress other than the House of Congress of which the 

 chairman is a Member. 



(d) Meetings ; powers of Board. 



The Board is authorized to sit and act at such 



