[Ip-health] Sign on letter to support the Federal Research Public Access Act (S.1373)

[Manon Ress]

Dear colleagues,

Find a draft letter to support  the Federal Research Public Access Act
(S.1373).  On June 25, 2009, Senators Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) and John
Cornyn (R-TX) introduced the Federal Research Public Access Act (S.
1373), a bill to ensure free, timely, online access to the published
results of research funded by eleven U.S. federal agencies.

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.

FYI: FRPAA was first introduced in 2006. There was extensive show of
support for the bill.  See the list of groups that signed a letter of
support in 2007 at the end of this email.

It is important and timely to send another letter of support for the
FRPAA.  I have drafted the following letter.  If you want to sign on,
let me know by the end of the week.

manon.ress@keionline.org

Manon

More on the Alliance for Taxpayer Access and the Bill at:
http://www.taxpayeraccess.org/
S.1373 is avalaible at:
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:S.1373:

*************************************************************
July..., 2009

Senator John Cornyn
517 Hart Senate Office Bldg.
Washington, DC 20510

Senator Joseph Lieberman
706 Hart Senate Office Bldg.
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senators,

The undersigned public interest organizations are writing to express
their appreciation for your sponsorship of the 2009 Federal Research
Public Access Act (S.1373).

The Internet now provides an unprecedented opportunity to amplify and
disseminate the results of medical research by making it more widely
and easily available than ever before. Improving access to scientific
findings will help scientists build on research, accelerating
innovation that provides treatments and cures, saving and improving
countless lives.

Expanding access to medical research findings is not only important
for physicians and scientists but also for patients and their
families. There are today too few medical papers available online
including the majority of papers supported with taxpayer funding.
These peer-reviewed papers will be of great benefit to doctors and
patients in informing treatment decisions.

Access to many online scientific papers requires expensive
subscriptions and many are never placed online. Congress must ensure
that the public, having invested in science, gets access to publicly
funded scientific publications and that research findings are easily
available to scientists, medical researchers, physicians, students and
patients.

As organizations concerned with public health, access to knowledge and
a fair return on public investment in the creation of knowledge, we
greatly appreciate your efforts on this issue, and encourage your
continued diligence in working with the 111th Congress to take the
next step and passes this important legislation.

We are pleased to be part of a broad coalition, including hundreds of
consumers, academics, librarians, students and many other stakeholders
that have expressed their support for the Public Access Act, in order
to ensure barrier-free access to taxpayer-funded research (see:http://www.t=
axpayeraccess.org/member.html)
.

If you have questions or would like to discuss this matter further,
please contact

Knowledge Ecology International at (202) 332 2670.
Respectfully,


*************************************************************
FYI here's a list of organizations that signed the February 2007
letter of support:

AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition
Alliance for Human Research Protection
(AHRP)
American Medical Student Association
Arthritis Foundation
Autism Speaks
C3: Colorectal Cancer Coalition
Center for International Environmental
Law
Center for Science in the Public Interest
Chemical Sensitivity Disorders Association
Coalition of Heritable Disorders of
Connective Tissue
Community Catalyst
Christopher Reeve Foundation
Connecticut Legal Services
Consumer Federation of America
Consumer Union
Essential Action
Families USA
Genetic Alliance
Genetic Alliance BioBank
Harm Reduction Coalition
Health GAP (Global Access Project)
International Mosaic Down Syndrome
Association
Knowledge Ecology International
National Alliance on Mental Illness
(NAMI)
National Tay Sachs and Allied Diseases
Association
Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy
People=92s Health Movement =96 USA
PXE International
Universities Allied for Essential
Medicine
William E. Morris Institute for Justice

In the spirit of open and collaborative science that transcends
national borders, the following
non-US based groups also add their support:
Consumer Association for Quality of Life (EKPIZO)
Consumers=92 Protection Center (KEPKA)
Health Action International =96 Europe
Healthy Skepticism Inc
Insulin Dependant Diabetes Trust
International Society of Drug Bulletins
Korean Pharmacists for Democratic Society
Wemos Foundation
Zimbabwe AIDS Prevention Project (ZAPP)

***************************************************************************
Manon Ress
manon.ress@keionline.org
Knowledge Ecology International
1621 Connecticut Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20009 USA
Tel.:  +1.202.332.2670, Fax: +1.202.332.2673