SECRECY NEWS
from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy
Volume 2010, Issue No. 38
May 12, 2010

Secrecy News Blog: http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/

A NEW PUSH FOR THE OFFICE OF TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT

Ever since the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) was eliminated in 1995 by the resurgent Republican majority, some members of Congress, science policy advocates, and others having been searching for a way to replace the depth of expertise and and the often trenchant policy analysis that it once provided to Congress and the public. Now the possibility of reconstituting OTA itself is gaining new momentum.

For the second year in a row, Rep. Rush Holt (D-NJ) has requested that $35 million be allocated to restore OTA. Last week, dozens of scientific, environmental, labor and other organizations endorsed funding for OTA in a letter to Congress. "Revitalizing the OTA would enable members of Congress to more fully understand the advantages and implications of the science and technologies in which they are asked to invest," said the May 7 letter, which was coordinated by the Union of Concerned Scientists.

The possibility of new funding for OTA and related discussion of technology assessments for Congress including were noted by the Congressional Research Service in "Legislative Branch: FY2011 Appropriations," April 28, 2010 (at pp. 18-19):

A comprehensive archive of OTA publications from 1972-1995 is available on the Federation of American Scientists web site.

A 2004 report from the Federation of American Scientists entitled "Flying Blind: The Rise, Fall, and Possible Resurrection of Science Policy Advice in the United States" by Henry Kelly, Ivan Oelrich, myself and Benn H. Tannenbaum is here:

In the absence of an OTA, Congress has assigned technology assessment problems of varying scope and complexity to the National Academies of Science, the Government Accountability Office, and the Congressional Research Service.

A 2008 CRS report -- that may conceivably have some relevance to the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil drilling rig off the Gulf Coast last month -- examined the value and hazards of natural gas in the form of solid gas hydrates. "Offshore drilling operations that disturb gas hydrate-bearing sediments could fracture or disrupt the bottom sediments and compromise the wellbore, pipelines, rig supports, and other equipment involved in oil and gas production from the seafloor," the report said. See "Gas Hydrates: Resource and Hazard," November 26, 2008:

BURMA, GREECE, ARIZONA AND MORE FROM CRS

Each year, Congress inserts language in the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act prohibiting the Congressional Research Service from "pay[ing] any salary or expense in connection with any publication" that has not been specifically approved by the House Administration Committee or the Senate Rules and Administration Committee. The intent of the language is to prevent CRS from making its products directly available to the public.

The following CRS publications obtained by Secrecy News fall under this strange prohibition, since they have not been approved for public dissemination by the House or Senate Committees.

"Burma's 2010 Elections: Implications of the New Constitution and Election Laws," April 29, 2010:

"Greece's Debt Crisis: Overview, Policy Responses, and Implications," April 27, 2010:

"State Efforts to Deter Unauthorized Aliens: Legal Analysis of Arizona's S.B. 1070," May 3, 2010:

"Legislative Approaches to Defining 'Waters of the United States'," April 30, 2010:

"State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs: FY2011 Budget and Appropriations," May 5, 2010:

"Latin America and the Caribbean: Illicit Drug Trafficking and U.S. Counterdrug Programs," April 30, 2010:

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Secrecy News is written by Steven Aftergood and published by the Federation of American Scientists.

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