A 1990 OTA report, Electronic Bulls and Bears: U.S. Securities Markets and Information Technology,  notes that “Computer-assisted trading strategies can cause short-term price volatility, or spread selling or buying pressure from one market to others.”  The report was written in response to requests by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and the House Committee on Government Operations to assess the role of communication and information technologies in the securities markets.

OTA said, “Futures and options markets are criticized for developing products that are suspected of increasing the likelihood of a market crash. These problems call for a re-examination of public policies including changes in the regulatory structure.”  The report also states, “The private sector cannot achieve, without government assistance, some of the necessary adjustments to keep American markets strongly competitive and to protect American investors and financial systems.”

In another 1990 report, Trading Around the Clock: Global Securities Markets and Information Technology, OTA describes the forces encouraging the development of international securities markets, the obstacles that must be overcome, and the major sources of unnecessary risk.  The report describes three possible international regulatory schemes and states, “Effective response to a major securities market break will in the future require international as well as domestic actions. The central issue may be how to prevent a liquidity crisis from becoming a solvency crisis.”

In a 1984 report, Effects of Information Technology on Financial Services Systems, OTA described new technologies and other changes in the financial service industry and warned that in large amounts of funds were being moved from accounts that are insured and closely supervised to accounts that offer higher return but have little, if any, Federal protection.  This report was part of a study requested in 1982 by the House Committee on Banking, Finance, and Urban Affairs; the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.  The committees requested OTA to study the impacts of information processing and telecommunication technologies on financial service systems.

A real estate blog entry discusses “prudent avoidance” of  electric and magnetic fields and credits an  OTA report, Biological Effects of Power Frequency: Electric and Magnetic Field. This May 1989 background paper (p. 77) suggests several approaches to  risk assessment and regulation of electric and magnetic fields.

A Sweetwater County library, Wyoming, blog mentions the FAS OTA Archive.

This blog post discusses examples of how some political leaders have used “…the work of scientists to cloak private interests in what is ostensibly value free analysis.” What may be needed is more value added science, exemplified by OTA’s and the National Academy of Sciences’ work which is  “… the product of a dialogue among diverse actors–hard scientists, social scientists, and value based interests alike.”

An article about nuclear power plants and laser isotope separation refers to a 1977 OTA report, Nuclear Proliferation and Safeguards Appendix Volume II Part 2.

A blog post about the history of Oak Ridge has a few biographical notes about John H. Gibbons, Director of OTA from 1979 to 1993.

A blog post about globalization, neoliberalism and agricultural biotechnology policy refers to a 1991 OTA report,  U.S. Dairy Industry at a Crossroads: Biotechnology and Policy Choices.

By Philip H. | The Intersection | September 2, 2008

This blog post mentioned the OTA Archive and discussed some ideas about how to communicate science to Congress.  Referred to several OTA reports on issues that are still being debated:  a 1990 report, Replacing Gasoline: Alternative Fuels for Light Duty Vehicles and Preparing for an Uncertain Climate Volume I and Volume II published in 1993.

This blog entry credited OTA for their worldwide leadership in technology assessments in the health care field in the 1970’s,  providing politicians with an evaluation of not only the medical technologies and procedures but also the organizational structures in which medical services are provided.  European countries (Sweden, the Netherlands, France, and Britain) later developed similar programs in the 1980’s.

A blog post about the failure of the Congress to reinstate OTA says, “While the OTA may have died on the altar of partisan ideology in 1995, its revival today seems to be inhibited by a bipartisan failure to understand why it’s needed.”

Read more about Rep. Rush Holt’s (D-NJ) recent efforts to reinstate OTA here.