[open-science] US Federal Research Public Access Act

[Jonathan Gray]

**Apologies for cross-posting**

ALLIANCE FOR TAXPAYER ACCESS
www.taxpayeraccess.org

For immediate release
April 15, 2010

For more information, contact
Jennifer McLennan
(202) 296-2296 ext. 121
jennifer [at] arl [dot] org

Congress takes another stride toward public access to research
Federal Research Public Access Act introduced in the House of
Representatives

Washington, DC - Fueling the growing momentum toward openness,
transparency, and accessibility to publicly funded information, the
Federal Research Public Access Act of 2010 (FRPAA) has been introduced
today in the U.S. House of Representatives by Rep. Mike Doyle (D-PA)
and a bi-partisan host of co-sponsors. The proposed bill would build
on the success of the first U.S. mandate for public access to the
published results of publicly funded research at the National
Institutes of Health (NIH), and require federal agencies with annual
extramural research budgets of $100 million or more to provide the
public with online access to research manuscripts stemming from funded
research no later than six months after publication in a peer-reviewed
journal.

"Free and open access to scientific literature and data are the
underpinnings of discovery in the digital age," said Stephen Friend MD
PhD, President and Co-Founder of Sage Bionetworks. "Full collaboration
among researchers is essential, and we have the power now to
communicate, collaborate, and innovate in ways that were previously
unimaginable. I applaud the sponsors of the Federal Research Public
Access Act for their commitment to ensuring the kind of access
scientists need to make progress on improved disease treatments and
diagnostics in the digital world."

Like the Senate bill introduced in 2009 by Senators Lieberman (I-CT)
and Cornyn (R-TX), H.R. 5037 would unlock unclassified research funded
by agencies including: Department of Agriculture, Department of
Commerce, Department of Defense, Department of Education, Department
of Energy, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of
Homeland Security, Department of Transportation, Environmental
Protection Agency, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and
the National Science Foundation.

H.R. 5037 follows closely on the heels of a recent expression of
interest in public access policies from the White House Office of
Science and Technology Policy, which issued a request for public
comment on mechanisms that would leverage federal investments in
scientific research and increase access to information that promises
to stimulate scientific and technological innovation and
competitiveness.

"This bill recognizes the urgent need - and opportunity - to use
digital technology to increase the pace of innovation," added Elliot
Schwartz, Vice President for Economic Studies at the Committee for
Economic Development. "The bill is a crucial, welcome move toward
advancing research through openness and avoiding making the taxpayer
pay twice for taxpayer-funded research. it is good public policy."
The introduction of H.R. 5037 was also welcomed by leaders in the
higher education community, who recognize this legislation helps to
ensure the United States is positioned to continue to fuel education
and innovation.

"Conducting critical research that enriches and improves lives has
always been a key mission of universities in this country, including
Ohio State," said E. Gordon Gee, president of The Ohio State
University. "Disseminating the knowledge gained from that research is
an equally important part of our institutions' public purpose. The
Federal Research Public Access Act will further spread new knowledge,
and it has my full support."

"Advancing research is at the core of the mission of higher education,
and broadening access to the scholarly record is a critical step in
helping research to advance to its fullest potential," added Karen
Hanson, Provost and Executive Vice President, Indiana University. "The
current system for exchanging the results of research is deeply
flawed, and major changes - like this bill - are required. I welcome
the introduction of the Federal Research Public Access Act."

The Alliance for Taxpayer Access thanks and congratulates
Representative Doyle and all of the bill's co-sponsors for championing
this pivotal legislation, and calls on organizations and individuals
to write in support of the bill through the Web site at
http://www.taxpayeraccess.org
.

For more information about the Federal Research Public Access Act and
the broad coalition that supports its passage, visit
http://www.taxpayeraccess.org
.

###

The Alliance for Taxpayer Access is a coalition of patient, academic,
research, and publishing organizations that supports open public
access to the results of federally funded research. The Alliance was
formed in 2004 to urge that peer-reviewed articles stemming from
taxpayer-funded research become fully accessible and available online
at no extra cost to the American public. Details on the ATA may be
found at http://www.taxpayeraccess.org.

-------------------------------------
Jennifer McLennan
Director of Programs & Operations
SPARC
jennifer at arl.org
(202) 296-2296 x121
Fax: (202) 872-0884
*******************************
SPARC 2010 Digital Repositories Meeting
November 8 & 9 - Baltimore, MD
http://www.arl.org/sparc/media/09-0223.shtml
*******************************
Open Access Week 2010
October 18 - 24. Everywhere.
http://www.openaccessweek.org
*******************************
http://www.arl.org/sparc



-- 
Jonathan Gray

Community Coordinator
The Open Knowledge Foundation
http://blog.okfn.org

http://twitter.com/jwyg
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