Advocacy Updates

Advocacy Alert: 7/15/2009

Help free the data!

Voice your support for open access to research
TAKE ACTION

Ask your Senators to co-sponsor FRPAA (S. 1373)

On June 25, Senators Lieberman (I-CT) and Cornyn (R-TX) introduced the Federal Research Public Access Act (S.1373), a bill that would ensure free, timely, online access to the published results of research funded by eleven U.S. federal agencies. S.1373 would require those agencies with annual extramural research budgets of $100 million or more, including the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), 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 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.

S. 1373 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 universities such as Harvard and MIT.

Detailed information about the Federal Research Public Access Act is available at http://www.taxpayeraccess.org/frpaa. This is one step toward gaining greater public access to original data funded with taxpayer funds, data such as CDC has accumulated for 25 years on chronic fatigue syndrome.

All supporters of public access - patient advocates, consumers, universities and colleges, researchers, libraries, campus administrators, publishers, and others - are asked to ACT NOW to support this bill.

This information is provided by the Alliance for Taxpayer Access, of which the CFIDS Association of America is a member