ACT BY OCTOBER 1 to let Congress know you support the Federal Research Public Access Act (Alliance for Taxpayer Access)

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ACT BY OCTOBER 1 to let Congress know you support the Federal Research Public Access Act

Published Sep 15, 2010

All supporters of public access – universities and colleges, researchers, libraries, campus administrators, patient advocates, publishers, small businesses, consumers, individuals, and others – are asked to call on your representatives to co-sponsor H.R.5037 or S.1373 BEFORE OCTOBER 1. Talking points are included below.

***ACT NOW through the ATA Legislative Action Center. And, please send copies of your letters to jennifer [at] arl.org.

STATE-SPECIFIC SUPPORT IS ALSO NEEDED. If your representative is a member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, please also urge him/her to advance FRPAA before the end of THIS congressional session. A list of committee members is included below.

Background:

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 at http://www.taxpayeraccess.org/frpaa.

***ACT NOW through the ATA Legislative Action Center. And, please send copies of your letters to jennifer [AT] arl.org. Talking points are included below.

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. Have a great weekend!

Heather Joseph
Spokesperson for the Alliance and Executive Director of SPARC
Telephone: (202) 296-2296
Email: heather [at] arl [dot] org

Jennifer McLennan
Director of Programs & Operations, SPARC
Telephone: (202) 296-2296 ext. 121
Email: jennifer [at] arl [dot] org

Talking points

    • Members of Congress are asked to support and co-sponsor the Federal Research Public Access Act (S. 1373 and HR. 5037).

    • (Members of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform are asked to advance the bill THIS congressional session).

·       The bill would ensure that the published results of research funded by the U.S. government can be accessed and used by American taxpayers via the Internet.

· Widespread access to the information contained in these manuscripts is an essential, inseparable component of our nation's investment in science. This and other scientific information should be shared in cost-effective ways that take advantage of the Internet, stimulate further discovery and innovation, and advance the translation of this knowledge into public benefits.

· Open online access to research will ensure maximum discovery, use and re-use of available research – making possible an unprecedented variety of potential connections and discoveries, and improve the lives and welfare of people in the U.S. and around the world.

· [detail why public access to research is important to your organization.]

· Please support or co-sponsor the Federal Research Public Access Act (S.1373, H.R. 5037).

[End talking points]

COMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND GOVERNMENT REFORM

AZ: Rep. Jeff Flake (REP-AZ-6th), Fax (202)-226-4386

CA: Rep. Darrell E. Issa (REP-CA-49th), Ranking Member fax (202) 225-3303

Rep. Brian Bilbray (REP-CA-50th), fax (202) 225-2558

Rep. Judy Chu (DEM-CA-32nd), fax, (202) 225-5467

Rep. Jackie Speier (DEM-CA-12th), fax, (202) 226-4183

Rep. Diane Watson (DEM-CA-33rd), fax, (202) 225-2422

CT: Rep. Christopher Murphy (DEM-CT-5th), fax, (202) 225-5933

DC: Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (DEM-DC-At-Large), fax, (202) 225-3002

FL: Rep. John Mica (REP-FL-7th), fax, 202) 226-0821

GA: Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (REP-GA-3rd), fax, (202) 225- 2515

IL: Rep. Danny Davis (DEM-IL-7th), fax, (202) 225-5641

Rep. Bill Foster (DEM-IL-14th), fax, (202) 225-0697

Rep. Mike Quigley (DEM-IL-5th), fax, (202) 225-5603

Rep. Aaron Schock (REP-IL-18th), fax, (202) 225-9249

IN: Rep. Dan Burton (REP-IN-5th), fax, (202) 225-0016

LA: Rep. Anh Cao (REP-LA-2nd), fax, (202) 225-1988

MA: Rep. Stephen Lynch (DEM-MA-9th), fax, (202) 225-3984

Rep. John Tierney (DEM-MA-6th), fax, (202) 225-5915

MD: Rep. Elijah Cummings (DEM-MD-7th), fax, (202) 225-3178

Rep. Chris Van Hollen (DEM-MD-8th), fax, (202) 225-0375

MO: Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (REP-MO-9th), fax, (202) 225-5712

Rep. Wm. Lacy Clay (DEM-MO-1st), fax, (202) 226-3717

NC: Rep. Patrick McHenry (REP-NC-10th), fax, (202) 225-0316

NE: Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (REP-NE-1st), fax, (202) 225-5686

NH: Rep. Paul Hodes (DEM-NH-2nd), fax, (202) 225-2946

NY: Rep. Carolyn Maloney (DEM-NY-14th), fax, (202) 225-4709

Rep. Edolphus Towns (DEM-NY-10th), Committee Chair, fax, (202) 225-1018

OH: Rep. Steve Driehaus (DEM-OH-1st), fax, (202) 225-3012

Rep. Jim Jordan (REP-OH-4th) fax, (202) 226-0577

Rep. Marcy Kaptur (DEM-OH-9th), fax, (202) 225-7711

Rep. Dennis Kucinich (DEM-OH-10th), fax, (202) 225-5745

Rep. Michael Turner (REP-OH-3rd), fax, (202) 225-6754

PA: Rep. Paul Kanjorski (DEM-PA-11th), fax, (202) 225-0764

Rep. Bill Shuster (REP-PA-9th), fax, (202) 225-2486

RI: Rep. Patrick Kennedy (DEM-RI-1st), fax, (202) 225-3290

TN: Rep. Jim Cooper (DEM-TN-5th), fax, (202) 226-1035

Rep. John Duncan (REP-TN-2nd), fax, (202) 225-6440

TX: Rep. Henry Cuellar (DEM-TX-28th), fax, (202) 225-1641

UT: Rep. Jason Chaffetz (REP-UT-3rd), fax, (202) 225-5629

VA: Rep. Gerry Connolly (DEM-VA-11th), fax, (202) 225-3071

VT: Rep. Peter Welch (DEM-VT-At-Large), fax, (202) 225-6790

Comments

4 comment(s) on this page. Add your own comment below.

Stephen G. Franks, Ph.D.

Sep 26, 2010 1:07am [ 1 ]

Open access is a solution in search of a problem. As a researcher who has worked both in the petroleum industry, universities, and an inndependent consultant, I have never had any significant problem accessing published research. Unintended consequences of this legislation may well be to destroy scientific societies (e.g. American Association of Petroleum Geologists, SEPM) which depend on memberships for their existence. Subscription to the journals of these organizations is one of the primary reasons that scientists become members. Non-members can access these publications in university libraries or request copies via interlibrary loan or directtly from authors who are ususally happy to provide them.

Vineet Gupta

Sep 27, 2010 4:56pm [ 2 ]

Open access policy for scientific publications is a very resource optimal approach for dissemination of knowledge, and research.

Anne Peattie

Sep 27, 2010 6:40pm [ 3 ]

Published results of research funded by the U.S. government must be accessible to American taxpayers via the Internet!

Jonathan W Monkemeyer

Sep 29, 2010 11:06am [ 4 ]

I have spent two years of my life trying to get access to all the published research material for Huntington's Disease. This involved traveling to several college libraries and I was only able to collect two thirds of the relevant PUBMED document.

As a tax payer who funds the vast majority of the research behind these reports, I think it an unconscionable moral turpitude against humanity and those most suffering that this information is kept by gatekeepers who profit off the researchers as well as the public. They should have no right to take away the rights from researchers who are paying them to be published.

This moral decadence exist within the guidelines of law and I expect our senators and congressmen to act to represent the best interest of the American people and support OPEN access. The future of healthcare and the strength of our nation depends upon this.

Even allowing pharma to pay for reprints corrupts the integrity of the published material so as to increase the revenue stream to the publisher. Not cool folks.