| The professional staffs of the U.S. Congress underwent a dramatic expansion during the decade of the 1970's. One rationale for the expansion has been that increased analytic capacity will lead to greater use of expertise in legislative activities, which will in turn provide more opportunities for "rational" decision making. However, since the legislative process offers constraints as well as supports for the use of expertise, it is necessary to consider whether increases in professional staff actually deliver these benefits. This research examines the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA), a support agency established in 1972 as a Congressional source of expertise on issues involving science and technology, in relation to this issue. Employing case studies of six OTA projects, it explores and evaluates the use of support agency analyses in Congress, agency strategies associated with such use, and whether or not such analyses contribute to legislative performance. These project histories confirm the thesis that OTA's role in Congress is determined by the formal characteristics of its assessments, and by the willingness of legislators to study and to act upon this information. The OTA projects studied here were used by legislators and their staffs in three ways: to develop legislation, to oversee administrative agencies, and for general reference. OTA has developed solutions to such support staff problems as agenda control, time frame, objectivity, and promotion which increase the agency's utility to lawmakers. At the same time, OTA analyses, by providing comprehensive and longrange treatments of the issues at hand, have contributed to Congress's ability to formulate and control policy and programs. |
