A new coalition named Future Congress aims to improve Congress’ understanding of technology and science to improve the body’s ability to understand technical policy challenges.
Announced on Monday, Future Congress includes members such as the Federation of American Scientists, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and the American Library Association. The group also includes organizations from universities like Stanford, Georgetown, Princeton, and UC Davis.
“Innovation, both in government and the private sector, requires a well-crafted policy environment that reflects sensible decisions about if, when, and how government should engage. Unfortunately, Congress’s dearth of technological expertise hinders its ability to properly evaluate different policy approaches and their risks,” the organization states on its website.
Future Congress called for the reinstatement of the congressional Office of Technology Assessment to help bring more expertise, although the group will not endorse legislation.
The organization is “currently focused on building institutional capacity rather than educating on particular issues,” said Zach Graves, head of policy at the Lincoln Network and cofounder of Future Congress, in an email to MeriTalk.