Future Congress is a resource hub for efforts to improve science & technology expertise in the legislative branch.

Our missioN

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 insufficient technological expertise hinders its ability to properly evaluate different policy approaches and their risks. This incentivizes bad policies and prolonged inaction, both of which have negative consequences for America’s economic growth and global competitiveness.

Our elected representatives in Congress need to be capable of engaging in 21st century policymaking and oversight on science and technology. Yet, the last few decades have seen a significant decline in Congress’s capacity to do its job. At the same time, the scope and number of technical policy challenges has increased. We must take steps to reverse this trend.

Our agenda

Congress needs more technical expertise and absorptive capacity. To accomplish this, we want to strengthen congressional support agencies and committees, build a robust technology assessment program inside the legislative branch, and improve staffing and human capital. We also want to help advance modern information technology infrastructure, the publication of legislative data in machine readable formats, and other modernizations (e.g. supporting the work of the House Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress). See our resources page for more information, or check out our Wiki at Github.

Get involved

Are you interested in helping support this work? Please contact us for more information.