Bill paves way for public access

With the goal of making federally funded research available to the taxpayers who paid for it, Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Joseph I. Lieberman (D-Conn.) introduced the Federal Research Public Access Act of 2006 on May 2. Under the bill, federal agencies with extramural research budgets of $100 million or more would have to develop public-access policies. These policies must require that agency-funded researchers submit an electronic manuscript of peer-reviewed journal articles for posting in a digital repository, which must be publicly accessible. According to the bill, the manuscripts must be posted within six months of publication. "Our bill simply says to all researchers who seek government funding that we want the results of your work to be seen by the largest possible audience," Cornyn said. Supporters of public access hailed the legislation as an important step in increasing access to research, while opponents continued to voice their concerns about the effects on publishers.