Senators John Cornyn(R-TX) and Joe Lieberman(ID-CT) reintroduced the Federal Research Public Access Act (FRPAA) (S1373) last week. This bill builds upon legislation that enacted the NIH Public Access Policy by requiring federal agencies with annual extramural research budgets of $100 million or more to implement a public access policy that is consistent with and advances the federal purpose of the respective agency. Under this legislation, each agency would be required to:
- Make electronic versions of peer-reviewed articles publicly available via the Internet within 6 months of the original publication date, and
- Preserve the manuscripts in a stable digital repository maintained by the agency or in another suitable digital repository that permits free public access. Each document will be freely available to users free of charge within six months after it has been published in a peer-reviewed journal.
A copy of the legislation can be found at http://www.thomas.gov and entering S 1373 in the search bill summary and status box
Take Action Now:
Phone calls are recommended, but you may also e-mail your member of Congress this information. Find your Senator and their contact information by going to www.senate.gov and selecting ‘Senators’ from the top left. Ask for the staff member that handles health care issues.
- Emphasize that the MLA and AAHSL strongly support this legislation because public access to health information is vital to a healthy nation and improved medical research. Let them know that expanding public access will also preserve health information for generations to come.
- Tell the staff member that S. 1373 will augment the effect of federal dollars through better patient care due to the increase of timely medical information. MLA believes that S 1373-The Federal Research Public Access Act of 2009 enables researchers to realize new discoveries more quickly and encourages a more open exchange of information amongst researchers. Strongly stress these points when you call.
- Thank them for their time and ask them to update you on any actions they take due to your request (leave your information). If you are transferred to their voicemail, be sure to include the above points and your contact information.
Issued by Information Issues and Policy Office, Medical Library Association
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