Abstract
Recent congressional action to abolish the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) reinforces the reputation of Congress as an institution where policy analysis is not particularly valued. The purpose of this article is to clarify the impact that the OTA had on congressional decision making by examining its contributions relative to other sources of policy analysis. Ninety-two congressional enterprises were studied as they searched for information on one of four specific issues over the course of the 99th Congress. Findings are based on 318 semi-structured interviews, results from two written questionnaires, and participant observation. Results indicate a more extensive awareness and use of policy analysis than found in most previous studies. Congressional support agencies are important sources of policy analysis for congressional staff, and, among the support agencies, analysis from the OTA occupied a very significant place within the information networks of the issues it studied.
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