Yoder Promotes Open Access To Tax-Funded Research

U.S. Rep. Kevin Yoder stood alone among the Kansas congressional delegation Wednesday as sponsor of legislation requiring research funded by federal agencies be made available to the public within six months of publication in a scholarly journal. Yoder said during a presentation in the main library at The University of Kansas that benefit of providing timely online access to scholarly peer-review materials supported in whole or part by federal  taxpayers outweighed the financial impact of such a mandate on publishers of scientific journals.

Taxpayers who initially pay for federal research projects shouldn't have to pay again -- for example,  through tax-supported university libraries -- to read results locked up in subscription publications, he said. "It seems like a common sense idea," Yoder said. "It's very straightforward. We certainly know the publishers of these journals don't support this legislation."

The National Institutes of Health has operated under a similar open access format since 2009. The bill offered by Yoder has more than 40 co-sponsors in the House, but the concept has drawn criticism from the Association of American Publishers. None of five other members of the Kansas congressional delegation have agreed to back the bill...