Federal Research Public Access Act (FRPAA) Supports Public Access to Research
The Federal Research Public Access Act of 2012 is bi-partisan legislation introduced Feb. 9, 2012 that requires that research funded by the federal government be made available to the public within 6 months of publication. Among the sponsors of FRPAA is Representative Kevin Yoder (R-KS).
FRPAA would require those agencies with annual extramural research budgets of $100 million or more 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 gives individual agencies flexibility in choosing the location of the digital repository to house this content, as long as the repositories meet conditions for interoperability and public accessibility, and have provisions for long-term archiving. The legislation seeks to extend and expand access to these federally funded research resources and importantly, spur and accelerate scientific discovery. Finally, this legislation reflects the growing trend by funders and campuses alike of adopting and implementing public access policies relating to federally funded research.
For more information:
Text of the Senate bill, S. 2096
Text of the House bill, H.R. 4004
FRPAA sponsor Congressman Mike Doyle’s remarks made when introducing the new legislation:
http://capitolwords.org/date/2012/02/09/E174-2_federal-research-public-access-act/
An excellent collection of resources from the Harvard Open Access Project, Harvard Law School:
http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/hoap/Notes_on_the_Federal_Research_Public_Access_Act
An excellent Q & A about FRPAA:
http://www.arl.org/sparc/advocacy/frpaa/FRPAAFAQ2012.shtml
Alliance for Taxpayer Access:
"Open Science Revolt Occupies Congress" Feb. 9, 2012 Wired article about FRPAA:
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/02/open-science-revolt-occupies-congress/
Read the Federal Research Public Access Act:
