Now you see it,now you don't

The Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980, at best, is now moribund. Events, in light of the Reagan Administration's budget cuts, have overtaken the times. Moreover, the principal advocates — Stevenson, Wydler and George Brown, Jr. — have departed for other climes, pursuits and interests. Fundamentally, the Act was doomed from its inception. It widely dispersed responsibilities among Federal agencies that in the past have shown, at best, a passivity towards technology transfer, or at worst, a disdain for it. Like so much Federal legislation in recent years, the Act lays out mandates broadly, badly defines terms and conditions, and omits the most important element of any law: penalties for violating it. Benign neglect, which seems to be the direction for at least the next four years, would appear to be its destiny. Section 11, Utilization of Federal Technology, however, might survive, but in a drastically truncated form, which should give precious little comfort to those who worked so hard for the passage of the Act.