OA: Fair Access to Science and Technology Research Act (FASTR) Legislation Introduced in U.S. Congress

Update (Feb. 21, 2013). Added link to Statement from ALA’s DC Office
Update (Feb. 15, 2013): We’ve added links to statements by the Association of American Publishers and ACRL at the bottom of this post.
From infojustice.org:

Today the Fair Access to Science and Technology Research ACT (FASTR) was introduced in both the House and Senate.  FASTR was sponsored by Senators Cornyn and Wyden and Representatives Doyle and Yoder.
The legislation requires federal agencies that fund research to develop a “public access policy” for federally funded academic papers.  The policies required by the bill would provide for “free online public access to such final peer reviewed manuscripts or published versions as soon as practicable, but not later than 6 months after publication in peer-reviewed journals; [and] providing research papers … in formats and under terms that enable productive reuse, including computational analysis by state-of-the-art technologies.”

From the Alliance For Taxpayer Access:

Because U.S. taxpayers underwrite this research, they have a right to expect that its dissemination and usewill be maximized, and that they will have access to articles reporting on the results.  The Internet has revolutionized information sharing and has made it possible to make the latest advances freely available to every researcher, student, teacher, entrepreneur, business owner and citizen so that the results can be read and built upon as efficiently as possible.
FASTR will make these articles freely available for all potential users to read and ensure that articles can be fully used in the digital environment, enabling the use of new computational analysis tools that promise to revolutionize the research process.

Additional Info and Call To Action (via AFTA)
Comment/Analysis, and Additional Resource from OA Expert Peter Suber
More From Peter Suber: Notes on the Fair Access to Science and Technology Research Act
Includes Comparison Between FASTR and FRPAA.
Comment/Analysis from Timothy Vollmer, Creative Commons
Comment/Analysis from Peter Jerram, PLOS
Comment/Analysis from ALA’s Washington DC Office
FAQ From SPARC

Two Page Summary of Bill (via Sen. Ron Wyden)

FASTR One Pager Updated by LJ’s infoDOCKET

Full Text of Bill
Complete Statement by Association of American Publishers About FASTR Bill

Calling it “different name, same boondoggle,” the Association of American Publishers said today that the Fair Access to Science and Technology Research (FASTR) Act is unnecessary and a waste of federal resources.

Comment/Analysis from ACRL

Filed under: Associations and Organizations, Companies (Publishers/Vendors), Journal Articles, News, Patrons and Users, PLOS