by John McDevitt

Created on: August 10, 2008   Last Updated: August 11, 2008

"Research is too important to keep it locked up." (taxpayeraccess.org). Our health, the health of our environment, the drive for energy independence and more depend on scientific research. Government regulators justify their actions with scientific data. Science impacts our daily lives in more ways than most people imagine. Science neither thrives nor can it serve the public interest when much of this research is either withheld from public scrutiny or available only via expensive subscription. Unfiltered public access to taxpayer funded science is vital because it creates the climate for a credible vigorous science with the checks and balances essential to the health of an open, democratic society.

Skepticism, from the Greek root "skepticos" means thoughtful and inquiring, and is the foundation of modern science. Scientific theories are tentative, subject to modification or even abandonment until proven through independent testing and replication. Scientists must have the means to communicate openly among themselves to validate and refine the results of their research.

Indeed, rapid and easy access to research data is the road to real world applications of scientific discoveries that give taxpayers a good return on their investment. Equally important, open scientific dialog puts the damper on dubious science and controversial theories that can be used to advance special interests at the expense of the public welfare.

Government has the power to require the release of federally funded research into the public domain as a condition of federal research grants. When Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) introduced the Federal Research Public Access Act (FRPAA) in May 2006, he said that "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. It will ensure that U.S. taxpayers do not have to pay twice for the same research - once to conduct it, and a second time to read it."

The National Institutes of Health took an important step in the spring of 2008 when they implemented a new policy with the mandate that electronic versions of all peer reviewed articles coming out of NIH funded research be made available in PubMed within 12 months of publication.

The actions of the NIH are a positive first step, but it's not enough. Nearly half of the 57.5 billion dollars budgeted for non-defense R&D in fiscal 2008 remain locked up behind subscription only doors. And it's not only the taxpaying public

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