End imminent for OTA

Legislation to end the congressional Office of Technology Assessment is in the final stages of becoming law.

House and Senate conferees met in late July and agreed to eliminate OTA as part of the legislative branch appropriations bill HR 1854. However, Congress delayed a final vote on the bill until after the session resumes September 6.

OTA has a $22 million budget, only a fraction of the $2.4 billion under the legislative appropriations bill. The agency's mission is to provide Congress and the public with objective analyses of technology issues, including information policy.

There had been attempts in the House to save OTA by providing $15 million to incorporate it into the Library of Congress' Congressional Research Service. However, the Senate voted for complete termination, and it got its way during conference.

Now that the conference committee has reported the bill, it must be approved by the House and Senate. Although members of the House may be reluctant to eliminate OTA, they are unlikely to hold up the bill, which covers the entire legislative branch.

Although OTA is scheduled to close October 1, many of its 143 full-time workers and 100 contractors already have left to take more stable positions.

Presidential veto remains unlikely because the president most likely will not get involved in the affairs of Congress.