Technology Assessment

Technical Disagreement Grounds 5G Rollout

November 17, 2021 | Luke Hogg

A disagreement between the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on spectrum interference has hit a wall leaving plans to roll out a 5G frequency band in limbo. Wireless carriers had originally planned to begin rollout of 5G services on December 5th, but agreed to a one month delay as the FAA

May 4, 2021 | Zach Graves

2021 year marks the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Government Accountability Office (GAO). After World War I, Congress sought to control growing government expenditures and debt and created GAO to assess the legality and adequacy of government expenditures. Today, GAO provides critical support to Congress through its audits, legal opinions, and analyses that

April 15, 2021 | Zach Graves

This post was co-authored by Zach Graves and Dan Lips. The FY2022 appropriations process is underway. While it represents a small fraction of overall spending, one of the most important challenges on Congress’s agenda is meeting the funding needs for the Legislative Branch, and providing resources for key support agencies like the Government Accountability Office

August 3, 2020 | Peter Blair

This paper is part of Lincoln’s Technology Assessment Symposium, which was made possible with the support of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. The paper was authored by Peter D. Blair. Blair is a distinguished senior fellow in the Schar School of Policy and Government of George Mason University. He was previously the executive director for

April 30, 2020 | Marshall Kosloff

Marshall Kosloff, Director of Outreach and Media for Lincoln Network, moderated a virtual panel featuring the following distinguished guests, Eli Dourado, Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Growth and Opportunity. Marci Harris, CEO, and Co-Founder of PopVoxMark Lutter, Founder and Executive Director of the Charter Cities Institute The event was inspired by Marc Andreessen,

April 30, 2020 | Zach Graves

Charting a path forward for enhanced science and technology expertise in Congress Yesterday the Congressional Research Service published a 71 page report, “The Office of Technology Assessment: History, Authorities, Issues, and Options.” As its title suggests, the report covers the history of the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA), recent legislative activity, and the recommendations from

April 14, 2020 | Jon Peha

Learning from the old OTA model This paper is part of Lincoln’s Technology Assessment Symposium, which was made possible with the support of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. The paper was authored by Jon Peha and M. Granger Morgan. Peha is a professor of engineering and public policy, and of electrical and

March 5, 2020 | Zach Graves

The following testimony was delivered on March 4, 2020. Zach Graves, Head of Policy, Lincoln Network Testimony to the United States House of Representatives, Committee on Appropriations, Legislative Branch Subcommittee Re: S&T Capacity at the Government Accountability Office Dear Chairman Ryan, Ranking Member Herrera Beutler, and members of the committee: Thank you for the opportunity

March 5, 2020 | Dan Lips

The following testimony was delivered on March 4, 2020. Chairman Ryan, Ranking Member Herrera Beutler, and Members of the Subcommittee: Thank you for the opportunity to testify. My name is Dan Lips. I am the Director of Cyber and National Security with the Lincoln Network, a non-profit organization that serves as a bridge between Silicon

Congress Re-Empowered

February 27, 2020 | Wayne Brough

Why the legislative branch needs better science and technology policy advice—and how it can get it. This paper is part of Lincoln’s Technology Assessment Symposium, which was made possible with the support of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. The paper was authored by Dr. Wayne T. Brough, president of the Innovation Defense

A Fresh Start for OTA

February 27, 2020 | Robert Atkinson

Creating the lean, dynamic technology assessment agency Congress needs today. This paper is part of Lincoln’s Technology Assessment Symposium, which was made possible with the support of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. The paper was authored by Robert D. Atkinson. Dr. Atkinson is the president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation.

February 27, 2020 | M. Anthony Mills

Learning from the founding and early history of OTA. This paper is part of Lincoln’s Technology Assessment Symposium, which was made possible with the support of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. The paper was authored by M. Anthony Mills. Mills is director of science policy at the R Street Institute. You can

February 27, 2020 | Chris Tyler

Lessons for the United States This paper is part of Lincoln’s Technology Assessment Symposium, which was made possible with the support of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. The paper was authored by Chris Tyler. Dr. Tyler is the director of research and policy in the Department of Science, Technology, Engineering and Public

February 27, 2020 | Kathryn Wagner Hill

OTA doesn’t get enough credit for the variety, timeliness, and impact of its work. This paper is part of Lincoln’s Technology Assessment Symposium, which was made possible with the support of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. The paper was authored by Kathryn Wagner Hill and edited by Adam Keiper and Elizabeth Foz.

February 11, 2020 | Zach Graves

This one pager was written to compliment Zach Graves and Daniel Schuman’s recent paper with the Harvard Ash Center on building science and technology capacity in Congress.

Symposium on Technology Assessment

February 1, 2020 | Zach Graves

In July of last year, Lincoln Network announced a call for papers on the future of technology assessment and science advice for Congress. The following papers from the first round of this series are available below. “Legislative Science Advice in Europe and the United Kingdom,” by Chris Tyler, University College London “The Many Meanings of

January 30, 2020 | Zach Graves

Lincoln head of policy Zach Graves discusses tech and innovation policy with Schmidt Futures’ Kumar Garg at the Day One Project conference at the National Academies of Sciences.

January 27, 2020 | Zach Graves

This paper was authored by Daniel Schuman and Zach Graves, and published by the Harvard Ash Center. Click here to read the paper. Or read the one page summary here. Key Takeaways Congress must overcome political obstacles to invest in its own S&T capacity. This should include the creation of a new technology assessment capability

December 5, 2019 | Zach Graves

The following letter was sent to the House Committee on Science, Space, & Technology on December 5, 2019. Click here for the full PDF version. Hon. Eddie Bernice Johnson, ChairwomanHon. Frank Lucas, Ranking MemberHouse Committee on Science, Space, & Technology2321 Rayburn House Office BuildingWashington, DC 20515 Re: Options for Improved Science and Technology Advice for

December 4, 2019 | Zach Graves

The National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) released its congressionally directed report on science and technology (S&T) expertise and capacity in Congress in October 2019. In this paper, Daniel Schuman and Zach Graves review the report’s conclusions and offer an analysis of its findings. Click here to read the full report.

November 26, 2019 | Zach Graves

Lincoln Network and Bipartisan Policy Center recently teamed up to host a policy forum on enhancing science and technology expertise and capacity in Congress. Watch the full event below. Featuring: Yuri BeckelmanDeputy Chief of Staff, Rep. Mark Takano (D-CA) Dr. Robert Cook-DeeganProfessor, School for the Future of Innovation in Society, Arizona State University Adam KeiperSenior

Reviving Expertise in a Populist Age

November 25, 2019 | Zach Graves

Zach Graves is the head of policy at Lincoln Network and an associate fellow at the R Street Institute. M. Anthony Mills is associate vice president of policy and a senior fellow at the R Street Institute. Though we have heard laments for decades that American democracy is sliding into idiocracy, never has more ink been spilled on

September 30, 2019 | Zach Graves

The article, “Incorporating Ethics Into Technology Assessment,” was co-authored by Zach Graves and Robert Cook-Deegan. It appears in the Fall 2019 issue of Issues in Science and Technology. Visit the Issues website here, or click here to read the full version of the article.

September 29, 2019 | Zach Graves

The following one pager was co-authored by Lincoln Network’s Zach Graves and Demand Progress’s Daniel Schuman. Click here to download a printer-friendly PDF version. The Office of Technology Assessment From 1974-1995, the Office of Technology Assessment served as a legislative branch support agency tasked with providing Congress with technology assessments: multi-disciplinary, authoritative analyses of science

August 1, 2019 | Zach Graves

Over the past two years, following high-profile hearings with Mark Zuckerberg and other tech CEOs, there has been a resurgence of interest in addressing Congress’s knowledge gap on scientific and technical policy issues (a conversation which we’ve been proud to help lead). One solution that has gained momentum is restoring the Office of Technology Assessment, a science and

July 30, 2019 | Zach Graves

Over the past year or so, there’s been growing interest in bringing back the Office of Technology Assessment, a think tank within Congress that helped it understand complex science and technology issues from 1974 to 1995. Should OTA be brought back, it seems unlikely that policymakers will leave it unchanged (as they reexamine issues like the timeliness

July 25, 2019 | Zach Graves

The Supreme Court may soon finally start to rein in the sprawling administrative state, returning authority to make laws to Congress. Conservatives have dreamed of this restoration of the Constitution’s separation of powers between the legislative and executive branches. But Congress clearly isn’t equipped to decide the hard questions that lawmakers have simply left to

June 13, 2019 | Zach Graves

The following article, co-authored by Lincoln Network head of policy Zach Graves and R Street Institute vice president of policy Kevin R. Kosar, originally ran at RealClearPolicy. They are the authors of the policy study, “Bring in the Nerds: Reviving the Office of Technology Assessment.” Barely one in five Americans approve of the way Congress is operating. It

Podcast roundup on OTA

June 6, 2019 | Zach Graves

I appeared on several podcasts over the past few months to discuss improving S&T expertise in government, reviving the Office of Technology Assessment, and related issues. Check them out here: Cato Institute’s Building Tomorrow Podcast Federal News Radio’s Federal Drive with Tom Temin Techdirt Podcast Harvard University Ash Center’s AshCast

May 23, 2019 | Zach Graves

Looking through former Rep. Rush Holt’s (D-NJ) archives, I found this curious letter from Newt Gingrich to Rep. Amo Houghton (R-NY) on the Office of Technology Assessment dated January 10, 2006. In it he writes: “I agree with your thoughts about the essential nature of the OTA, and I am very interested in finding new

May 9, 2019 | Zach Graves

The following bipartisan coalition letter, organized by Lincoln Network and Demand Progress, was sent to the Senate Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch, on Thursday, May 9, 2019. Click here for a PDF version. Hon. Cindy Hyde-Smith, ChairmanHon. Chris Murphy, Ranking MemberU.S. Senate, Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on the Legislative BranchRoom S-128, The

Reboot American Innovation Conference

May 6, 2019 | Lincoln Policy

Check out all the videos from Lincoln Network’s Reboot American Innovation conference. Additional information about the speakers and program can be found here. Agenda 8:15 AMREGISTRATIONContinental breakfast 8:45 AMWELCOME & OPENING REMARKSGarrett Johnson, Executive Director and Co-Founder, Lincoln Network; Aaron Ginn, Co-Founder, Lincoln Network. 9:00 AMOPENING KEYNOTEDr. Robert Zubrin, President, Pioneer Astronautics; and Contributing Editor, The

April 3, 2019 | Zach Graves

On April 2, 2019, I testified before the U.S. House Appropriations Committee’s Legislative Branch Subcommittee on improving S&T expertise in Congress. At hand was the ongoing discussion on building-out technology assessment capabilities (modeled on the defunct Office of Technology Assessment) within the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The following is an excerpt of the testimony (available

March 25, 2019 | Zach Graves

The following bipartisan coalition letter was organized by Lincoln Network and Demand Progress. Two versions were sent to House and Senate appropriators. Click here for the House version (displayed below). Click here for the Senate version. Rep. Nita Lowey, ChairwomanRep. Kay Granger, Ranking MemberU.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Appropriations The Capitol, Room H-307Washington, DC

March 6, 2019 | Zach Graves

I joined an expert panel on Capitol Hill to talk about improving science and technology expertise in Congress. Check out the full video and details below: Following a series of news-grabbing exchanges with tech CEOs last year, there has been a renewed push to boost Congress’s in-house policy expertise. The most prominent of these efforts

February 2, 2019 | Zach Graves

Last week the Government Accountability Office (GAO) announced the formation of a new office to aid Congress in understanding science and technology matters. This office will be organized as a 15th mission team under GAO’s organization chart called “Science, Technology Assessment, and Analytics” (STAA). Its work will focus on four key areas: Conducting technology assessments and providing technical services

October 5, 2018 | Zach Graves

The following article by Lincoln Network head of policy Zach Graves and Demand Progress policy director Daniel Schuman originally ran at Techdirt: When Mark Zuckerberg was called to testify earlier this year, the world was shocked by Congress’s evident lack of basic technological literacy. For many, this performance illustrates the institution’s incompetence. After all, if our elected representatives

September 25, 2018 | Zach Graves

The following policy study by Lincoln Network head of policy Zach Graves was published by the R Street Institute on September 25, 2018. Click here to read it.

May 20, 2018 | Zach Graves

I co-organized the following coalition letter urging Congress to takes steps to improve its in-house expertise on science and technology. The letter argues: The dearth of technological expertise in the legislative branch makes it difficult for Congress to properly evaluate the divergent claims of executive agencies, academic centers, interest groups and lobbyists. This circumstance is