18 April 2002 The Honorable John McCain
Dear Senator McCain: The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers - United States of America (IEEE-USA) supports the development of improved mechanisms to provide timely, accurate and unbiased information to the Congress on issues involving science, engineering and technology. We understand that you are considering an amendment to the Senate energy bill (S.517) that would strip out Title XVI authorizing formation of a National Science and Technology Assessment Service for Congress. We urge you not to submit this amendment and ask your support for inclusion of appropriate technology assessment provisions in S.517, and possibly other legislation. Frequently, the Congress must address policy questions that involve complex issues of science, engineering and technology. It seeks timely and balanced assessments that identify the implications of different policies and approaches without making recommendations that transcend purely scientific and technological facts. On many of the issues, Congress frequently finds it difficult to obtain such assessments even though this advice is needed if it is to oversee federal programs effectively and legislate in a knowledgeable manner. Current sources of technology assessments include the Congressional Research Service (CRS), the General Accounting Office (GAO), and the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), as well as federal agencies and individual advisors to Congresspersons and committees. However, according to many Members of Congress and their staff, the existing sources are not adequately meeting the technology assessment needs of Congress and would have to be changed significantly to provide such information. Therefore, in order to supplement these resources, Congress should have a mechanism for obtaining in-depth, timely, and balanced technical and scientific assessments, including the implications of a range of approaches to important policy issues. The provider should be distinctly an instrument for the Congress alone to use, and responsible only to the Congress, although its reports would likely also help to frame policy debates in the broader society. IEEE-USA is an organizational unit of The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc., created in 1973 to promote the careers and public-policy interests of the more than 230,000 electrical, electronics, computer and software engineers who are U.S. members of the IEEE. Sincerely, LeEarl A. Bryant, P.E.
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