[Scholarly Communication] 

Political momentum is growing for a change in federal policy that would require government-funded health researchers to make the results of their work freely available on the Internet. Since May 2, 2005, NIH has strongly encouraged grant recipients to deposit articles completed with partial or full NIH funding in PubMed Central (PMC). [more info]

However, a recent NIH report revealed that voluntary posting has not been a success. A key federal advisory committee now recommends that scientists who receive NIH grants be required to post their results within six months of publication, and the Senate is considering legislation that would mandate such disclosures for an even broader array of federally funded scientists. In December 2005, Sens. Joseph I. Lieberman, D-Conn., and Thad Cochran, R-Miss, introduced the American Center for Cures Act, which would require all recipients of federal grants (from CDCP and AHRQ as well as NIH) to post their final manuscripts within six months after publication, or risk losing funding.

A March 10, 2006, Washington Post article provides more details. To read the article, go to LexisNexis and search for "Government Health Researchers."

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