The U.S. Congress established the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) in 1972, late in the administration of President Richard Nixon (1969–1974). The brainchild of Representative Emilio Q. Daddario, a Connecticut Democrat (1959–1971), the OTA would become, along with the Library of Congress (established 1800) and the Congressional Budget Office (established 1974 one of three federal agencies providing advice directly to Congress rather than to the executive branch of government. Envisioned as an "early warning" mechanism that would alert lawmakers to the unwanted side effects of developing technologies, it also aimed to provide Congress with expertise somewhat analogous to that provided by presidential science advisors since the administration of Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1933–1945).

Historical Context

The OTA emerged in an era when science and technology were, on the one-hand, undergoing rapid expansion thanks in large measure to government sponsorship of research and development. On the other hand, science...