Federal Research Public Access Act

[Guest guest]

Ever since I began to use the internet, I have been very annoyed that

research paid for by taxpayers money was not available on-line, unless

I paid a big fee to read it. NOT FAIR! Taxpayers paid for the

research so we should be able to access it for free.

 

I just came up the info below about new legislation which could change

that. Go to URL at end to see the hotlinks.

 

Alobar

 

Call to action: Tell Congress you support the Federal Research Public Access Act

Published Apr 16, 2010

 

 

Yesterday (April 15), Representatives Doyle (D-PA), Waxman (D-CA),

Wasserman-Schultz (D-FL), Harper (R-MS), Boucher (D-VA) and

Rohrabacher (R-CA) introduced the Federal Research Public Access Act

(HR 5037), a bill that would ensure free, timely, online access to the

published results of research funded by eleven U.S. federal agencies.

 

All supporters of public access – universities and colleges,

researchers, libraries, campus administrators, patient advocates,

publishers, consumers, individuals, and others – are asked to ACT NOW

to support this bill. See below for actions you can take.

 

Now before both the House of Representatives and the Senate, FRPAA

would require those agencies with annual extramural research budgets

of $100 million or more to provide the public with online access to

research manuscripts stemming from such funding no later than six

months after publication in a peer-reviewed journal. The bill gives

individual agencies flexibility in choosing the location of the

digital repository to house this content, as long as the repositories

meet conditions for interoperability and public accessibility, and

have provisions for long-term archiving.

 

The bill specifically covers 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.

 

FRPAA reflects the growing trend among funding agencies – and college

and university campuses – to leverage their investment in the conduct

of research by maximizing the dissemination of results. It follows

the successful path forged by the NIH’s Public Access Policy, as well

as by private funders like the Wellcome Trust and campuses such as

Harvard, MIT, and the University of Kansas. The bill also reflects the

Administration’s recent expression of interest in the potential

implementation of public access policies across U.S. science and

technology agencies – as indicated by the call for public comment

issued by the Office of Science and Technology Policy, which closed in

January.

 

Detailed information about the Federal Research Public Access Act is available

athttp://www.taxpayeraccess.org/frpaa.

 

Here’s how you can help support this legislation:

 

Send thanks to the Bill’s sponsors, also through the ATA Action Center.

Ask your representatives in Congress to co-sponsor H.R.5037 or S.1373.

Act now through the ATA Legislative Action Center.

Express your organization’s support to Congress for public access to

taxpayer-funded research and for this bill. Send a copy of your letter

to sparc [at] arl [dot] org.

Issue a public statement of support from your organization and share

it widely with members, colleagues, and the media. Send a copy to

sparc [at] arl [dot] org to be featured on the FRPAA Web site.

Share news about this bill with friends and colleagues.

Post the “I support taxpayer access” banner on your Web site.

See the ATA Web site at http://www.taxpayeraccess.org/frpaa for more

ways you can support public access to publicly funded research and

this bill.

As always, thank you for your support and continued persistence in

supporting public access to publicly funded research in the United

States. Constituent voices make an unparalleled difference on Capitol

Hill.

 

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact us at any time.

 

Heather Joseph

Spokesperson for the Alliance and Executive Director of SPARC

Telephone: (202) 296-2296

Email: heather [at] arl [dot] org

 

Jennifer McLennan of Programs & Operations, SPARC

Telephone: (202) 296-2296 ext. 121

Email: jennifer [at] arl [dot] org

 

http://www.taxpayeraccess.org/issues/frpaa/frpaa_action/10-0416.shtml