The Federal Research Public Access Act, co-sponsored by Senators Cornyn (R-TX) and Joe Lieberman (I-CT), doesn't look like it's going to make it out of the Senate machinery soon.
According to a conversation this afternoon with Brian Walsh, Senator Cornyn's Communications Director, the bill has not been introduced in the current 110th Congress yet. This move would have to precede any further action by the Senate, like a vote. The reintroduction is something that Cornyn has pledged to do, but no real timeline is available. The act, which would require that all publicly funded research be made accessible at no cost within 6 months of publication, was introduced in the Senate in May 2006, but never made it to a floor vote....
Comment. We already knew that Cornyn planned to re-introduce FRPAA in the current session of Congress and hadn't done so yet. The fact that he doesn't have a timetable is not surprising and not a problem. Right now all Congressional attention is focused on the appropriations process (the new fiscal year starts in five days) and all OA energy is focused on the bill to strengthen the NIH policy, which is part of the appropriations process. First let's win the battle for the NIH policy and then we can refocus on FRPAA.
Posted by
Peter Suber at 9/26/2007 08:13:00 AM.
The open access movement:
Putting peer-reviewed scientific and scholarly literature
on the internet. Making it available free of charge and
free of most copyright and licensing restrictions.
Removing the barriers to serious research.
I recommend the OA tracking project (OATP) as the best way to stay on top of new OA developments. You can read the OATP feed on a blog-like web page or subscribe to it by RSS, email, or Twitter. You can also help build the feed by tagging new developments you encounter.
