Defunding the Office of Technology Assessment

Defunding the Office of Technology Assessment in 1995 was a devastating blow to evidence-based policy, saving only $22 million annually — less than 0.001% of the federal budget. The OTA had provided Congress with impartial, rigorous scientific advice for 23 years, and its closure forced lawmakers to rely on lobbyists and partisan think tanks for technical guidance. The loss of nonpartisan analysis has contributed to policy failures that cost taxpayers far more, such as the $200 billion in federal flood insurance payouts since 2000, a sum that easily outperforms the trivial OTA budget.