Reps. Zoe Lofgren, Mike Doyle and Kevin Yoder Introduce Bill Expanding Access to Federally Funded Research - Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren

U.S. Representatives Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Mike Doyle (D-PA), and Kevin Yoder (R-KS) today introduced legislation to increase the openness, transparency, and accessibility of publicly funded research results. The Fair Access to Science and Technology Research Act (FASTR) would 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. 'Everyday American taxpayer dollars are supporting researchers and scientists hard at work, when this information is shared, it can be used as a building block for future discoveries,' said Representative Lofgren. 'Greater public access can accelerate breakthroughs, where robust collaborative research can lead to faster commercialization and immense benefits for the public and our economy.' 'This bill will give the American people greater access to the important scientific research results they've paid for,' Congressman Doyle said today.'Supporting greater collaboration among researchers in the sciences will accelerate scientific innovation and discovery, while giving the public a greater return on their scientific investment.' 'The scientific research community benefits when they are able to share important research and cooperate across scientific fields. Likewise, taxpayers should not be required to pay twice for federally-funded research,' said Congressman Yoder. 'This legislation is common sense, and promotes more transparency, accountability, and cooperation within the scientific research community." Specifically, the Fair Access to Science and Technology Research Act would: • Require federal departments and agencies with an annual extramural research budget of $100 million or more, whether funded totally or partially by a government department or agency, to submit an electronic copy of the final manuscript that has been accepted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal. • Ensure that the manuscript is preserved in a stable digital repository maintained by that agency or in another suitable repository that permits free public access, interoperability, and long-term preservation. • Require that each taxpayer-funded manuscript be made available to the public online and without cost, no later than six months after the article has been published in a peer-reviewed journal. • Require agencies to examine whether introducing open licensing options for research papers they make publicly available as a result of the public access policy would promote productive reuse and computational analysis of those research papers. An identical Senate counterpart of this legislation is also being introduced today by Senators John Cornyn (R-TX) and Ron Wyden (D-OR). 'FASTR represents a giant step forward in making sure that the crucial information contained in these articles can be freely accessed and fully used by all members of the public,' said Heather Joseph, Executive Director of the Scholarly Publishing Academic Research Coalition (SPARC). 'It has the potential to truly revolutionize the scientific research process' ..."