New and updated reports from the Congressional Research Service this week include the following.
Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau’s State Visit, March 2016, CRS Insight, March 7, 2016
Overview of FY2017 Appropriations for Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS), March 7, 2016
First-Term Members of the House of Representatives and Senate, 64th-114th Congresses, March 7, 2016
The Precision Medicine Initiative, CRS Insight, March 8, 2016
Cybersecurity: Critical Infrastructure Authoritative Reports and Resources, March 8, 2016
The Aliso Canyon Natural Gas Leak: State and Federal Response and Oversight, CRS Insight, March 9, 2016
EPA’s Clean Power Plan for Existing Power Plants: Frequently Asked Questions, updated March 9, 2016
Poland and Its Relations with the United States: In Brief, updated March 7, 2016
Iraq: Politics and Governance, updated March 9, 2016
Navy Ford (CVN-78) Class Aircraft Carrier Program: Background and Issues for Congress, updated March 8, 2016
Navy Ohio Replacement (SSBN[X]) Ballistic Missile Submarine Program: Background and Issues for Congress, updated March 8, 2016
Daylight Saving Time, March 9, 2016
Gilman Louie, Longest Serving Board Chair of the Federation of American Scientists, Named Chair Emeritus
The proposed Office will resurrect the long-closed Office of Technology Assessment (OTA), the archive of which has been maintained by FAS for decades at https://ota.fas.org/.
If Congress needs help understanding the risks and rewards of a piece of technology, they shouldn’t have to rely solely on the sparknotes from a salesman. The rub is much simpler: Congress needs nerds.
If we set up the new OTA to do its job well, members will see it as the first stop to see what issues are lurking around the corner. They will bring their questions early. And they will keep coming back for more.