Comment from Anita Autry
Anita AutryOpposeAcademic
Summary: An Associate Professor of Neuroscience argues that the proposed rule would hinder the public's ability to access research funded by federal grants. They urge the OMB to maintain the current allowance for using grant funds to cover open access publishing fees.
I am an Associate Professor of Neuroscience and conduct research funded by the NIH. As part of my commitment to open research and compliance with federal laws, I publish all work in open access journals, allowing the public to access research funded by federal grant dollars. Open access fees are higher than traditional publishing through subscription models. The proposed rule 200.461 aims to disallow grant funding to cover these open access fees. This rule does not make sense, given that publication and dissemination of research results funded by NIH dollars is a critical aspect of NIH and other funding agencies' mission. I urge the OMB to continue allowing open access journal publishing fees and strike the consideration to disallow them put forward in 200.461 in order to preserve the public's ability to access federally funded research results.