,,ii #aaeth ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #aigc ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,october #ag1 #bjag ,mr4 ,paul introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,homeland ,security and ,governmental ,affairs ,a ,,bill ,to provide for ,federal research grant reform4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,,basic ,research ,act 4 #b4 ,review panels 7a7 ,inclusion on review panels ,notwithstanding any other provision of law1 each review panel for a specific ,federal research grant shall include-- 7#a7 at least one individual who is not professionally affiliated with any academic or research institution1 has not been professionally affiliated in the #aj years preceding the date of inclusion on the panel1 and is an expert in a field unrelated to the field of research under which the grant proposal was submitted2 and 7#b7 at least one individual who shall serve primarily as a taxpayer advocate 7defined as someone whose main focus is on the value proposed research delivers to the taxpayer74 7b7 ,prohibition on receiving recommendations from grant applicants on review panel ,notwithstanding any other provision of law1 each agency that awards a ,federal research grant shall not accept recommendations from an applicant for such grant as to who should or should not be on the grant review panel for such applicant4 7c7 ,nondisclosure of members of grant review panel ,notwithstanding any other provision of law1 each agency that awards a ,federal research grant shall not disclose1 either publicly or privately1 to an applicant for such grant the identity of any member of the grant review panel for such applicant4 #c4 ,special ,inspector ,general and ,taxpayer ,advocate for ,research 7a7 ,establishment 7#a7 ,in general ,there is established an ,office of the ,special ,inspector ,general and ,taxpayer ,advocate for ,research4 7#b7 ,head of ,office ,there shall be at the head of the ,office described in paragraph 7#a7 the ,special ,inspector ,general and ,taxpayer ,advocate for ,research1 who shall be appointed by the ,president1 by and with the advice and consent of the ,senate4 7b7 ,transfer of functions and savings 7#a7 ,definitions ,in this subsection1 unless otherwise provided or indicated by the context-- 7,a7 the term ,federal agency has the meaning given to the term agency by section #eea7a7 of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code2 7,b7 the term function means any duty1 obligation1 power1 authority1 responsibility1 right1 privilege1 activity1 or program2 and 7,c7 the term office includes any office1 administration1 agency1 institute1 unit1 organizational entity1 or component thereof4 7#b7 ,transfer ,there are transferred to the ,office of the ,special ,inspector ,general and ,taxpayer ,advocate for ,research all functions which the ,office of ,inspector ,general of the ,national ,science ,foundation exercised before the date of enactment of this ,act 7including all related functions of any officer or employee of the ,office of ,inspector ,general of the ,national ,science ,foundation74 7#c7 ,rules ,the ,office of the ,special ,inspector ,general and ,taxpayer ,advocate for ,research is authorized to prescribe1 in accordance with the provisions of chapters #e and #f of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code1 such rules and regulations as the ,office of the ,special ,inspector ,general and ,taxpayer ,advocate for ,research determines necessary or appropriate to administer and manage the functions of the ,office of the ,special ,inspector ,general and ,taxpayer ,advocate for ,research4 7#d7 ,transfer and allocations of appropriations and personnel ,except as otherwise provided in this subsection1 the personnel employed in connection with1 and the assets1 liabilities1 contracts1 property1 records1 and unexpended balances of appropriations1 authorizations1 allocations1 and other funds employed1 used1 held1 arising from1 available to1 or to be made available in connection with the functions transferred by this subsection1 subject to section #aeca of title #ca1 ,united ,states ,code1 shall be transferred to the ,office of the ,special ,inspector ,general and ,taxpayer ,advocate for ,research4 ,unexpended funds transferred pursuant to this paragraph shall be used only for the purposes for which the funds were originally authorized and appropriated4 7#e7 ,savings provisions 7,a7 ,continuing effect of legal documents ,all orders1 determinations1 rules1 regulations1 permits1 agreements1 grants1 contracts1 certificates1 licenses1 registrations1 privileges1 and other administrative actions-- 7i7 which have been issued1 made1 granted1 or allowed to become effective by the ,president1 any ,federal agency or official thereof1 or by a court of competent jurisdiction1 in the performance of functions which are transferred under this subsection2 and 7ii7 which are in effect at the time this subsection takes effect1 or were final before the effective date of this subsection and are to become effective on or after the effective date of this subsection1 shall continue in effect according to their terms until modified1 terminated1 superseded1 set aside1 or revoked in accordance with law by the ,president1 the ,office of the ,special ,inspector ,general and ,taxpayer ,advocate for ,research or other authorized official1 a court of competent jurisdiction1 or by operation of law4 7,b7 ,proceedings not affected ,the provisions of this subsection shall not affect any proceedings1 including notices of proposed rulemaking1 or any application for any license1 permit1 certificate1 or financial assistance pending before the ,office of ,inspector ,general of the ,national ,science ,foundation at the time this subsection takes effect1 with respect to functions transferred by this subsection but such proceedings and applications shall be continued4 ,orders shall be issued in such proceedings1 appeals shall be taken therefrom1 and payments shall be made pursuant to such orders1 as if this subsection had not been enacted1 and orders issued in any such proceedings shall continue in effect until modified1 terminated1 superseded1 or revoked by a duly authorized official1 by a court of competent jurisdiction1 or by operation of law4 ,nothing in this subparagraph shall be deemed to prohibit the discontinuance or modification of any such proceeding under the same terms and conditions and to the same extent that such proceeding could have been discontinued or modified if this subsection had not been enacted4 7,c7 ,suits not affected ,the provisions of this subsection shall not affect suits commenced before the effective date of this subsection1 and in all such suits1 proceedings shall be had1 appeals taken1 and judgments rendered in the same manner and with the same effect as if this subsection had not been enacted4 7,d7 ,nonabatement of actions ,no suit1 action1 or other proceeding commenced by or against the ,office of ,inspector ,general of the ,national ,science ,foundation1 or by or against any individual in the official capacity of such individual as an officer of the ,office of ,inspector ,general of the ,national ,science ,foundation1 shall abate by reason of the enactment of this subsection4 7,e7 ,administrative actions relating to promulgation of regulations ,any administrative action relating to the preparation or promulgation of a regulation by the ,office of ,inspector ,general of the ,national ,science ,foundation relating to a function transferred under this subsection may be continued by the ,office of the ,special ,inspector ,general and ,taxpayer ,advocate for ,research with the same effect as if this subsection had not been enacted4 7c7 ,powers and authorities 7#a7 ,duties ,in addition to the duties otherwise described in this section1 the ,special ,inspector ,general and ,taxpayer ,advocate for ,research shall also have the duties and responsibilities of inspectors general under the ,inspector ,general ,act of #aigh 7#e ,u4,s4,c4 ,app474 7#b7 ,authorities ,in carrying out the duties described in paragraph 7#a7 and otherwise described in this section1 the ,special ,inspector ,general and ,taxpayer ,advocate for ,research shall have the authorities provided in section #f of the ,inspector ,general ,act of #aigh 7#e ,u4,s4,c4 ,app474 7d7 ,focus and review ,the focus of the ,office of the ,special ,inspector ,general and ,taxpayer ,advocate for ,research shall be to review ,federal grant projects to determine if the research will deliver value to the taxpayers by randomly selecting ,federal grants for review after awards are made but prior to distribution of funds4 7e7 ,grant support ,for a ,federal grant reviewed under subsection 7d7 to receive the grant funds1 the grant shall receive the support of the ,office of the ,special ,inspector ,general and ,taxpayer ,advocate for ,research4 #d4 ,public accessibility of research funded by taxpayers 7a7 ,definition of federal agency ,in this section1 the term ,federal agency means an ,executive agency1 as defined under section #aje of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code4 7b7 ,federal research public access policy 7#a7 ,requirement ,to develop policy 7,a7 ,in general ,not later than #a year after the date of enactment of this section1 each ,federal agency with annual extramural research expenditures of over #ajj1jjj1jjj shall develop a ,federal research public access policy that is consistent with and advances the purposes of the ,federal agency4 7,b7 ,common procedures ,to the extent practicable1 ,federal agencies required to develop a policy under subparagraph 7,a7 shall follow common procedures for the collection and depositing of research papers4 7#b7 ,content ,each ,federal research public access policy shall provide for-- 7,a7 submission to a digital repository designated or maintained by the ,federal agency of an electronic version of the author's final manuscript of original research papers that have been accepted for publication in peer-reviewed journals and that result from research supported1 in whole or in part1 from funding by the ,federal ,government2 7,b7 the incorporation of all changes resulting from the peer review publication process in the manuscript described under subparagraph 7,a72 7,c7 the replacement of the final manuscript with the final published version if-- 7i7 the publisher consents to the replacement2 and 7ii7 the goals of the ,federal agency for functionality and interoperability are retained2 7,d7 free online public access to such final peer-reviewed manuscripts or published versions within a time period that is appropriate for each type of research conducted or sponsored by the ,federal agency1 not later than #ab months after publication in peer-reviewed journals1 preferably sooner1 or as adjusted under established mechanisms2 7,e7 a means1 using established mechanisms for making requests to the applicable ,federal agency1 for members of the public and other stakeholders to request to adjust the period before such a final peer-reviewed manuscript or published version is made publicly available by presenting evidence demonstrating that the period is inconsistent with the objectives of the ,federal research public access policy or the needs of the public1 industry1 or the scientific community2 7,f7 providing research papers as described in subparagraph 7,d7 in formats and under terms that enable productive reuse of the research and computational analysis by state-of-the-art technologies2 7,g7 improving the ability of the public to locate and access research papers made accessible under the ,federal research public access policy2 and 7,h7 long-term preservation of1 and free public access to1 published research findings-- 7i7 in a stable digital repository maintained by the ,federal agency2 or 7ii7 if consistent with the purposes of the ,federal agency1 in any repository meeting conditions determined favorable by the ,federal agency1 including free public access1 interoperability1 and long-term preservation4 7#c7 ,application of policy ,each ,federal research public access policy shall-- 7,a7 apply to-- 7i7 researchers employed by the ,federal agency whose works remain in the public domain2 and 7ii7 researchers funded by the ,federal agency2 7,b7 provide that works described under subparagraph 7,a77i7 shall be-- 7i7 marked as being public domain material when published2 and 7ii7 made available at the same time such works are made available under paragraph 7#b77;,d72 and 7,c7 make effective use of any law or guidance relating to the creation and reservation of a ,government license that provides for the reproduction1 publication1 release1 or other uses of a final manuscript for ,federal purposes4 7#d7 ,exclusions ,each ,federal research public access policy shall not apply to-- 7,a7 research progress reports presented at professional meetings or conferences2 7,b7 laboratory notes1 preliminary data analyses1 notes of the author1 phone logs1 or other information used to produce final manuscripts2 7,c7 classified research1 research resulting in works that generate revenue or royalties for authors 7such as books7 or patentable discoveries1 to the extent necessary to protect a copyright or patent2 or 7,d7 authors who do not submit their work to a journal or works that are rejected by journals4 7#e7 ,patent or copyright law ,nothing in this section shall be construed to affect any right under the provisions of title #ag or #ce1 ,united ,states ,code4 7#f7 ,,gao ,report ,not later than #c years after the date of enactment of this section1 and every #e years thereafter1 the ,comptroller ,general of the ,united ,states shall submit to ,congress a report that-- 7,a7 includes an analysis of the period between the date on which each paper becomes publicly available in a journal and the date on which the paper is in the online repository of the applicable ,federal agency2 and 7,b7 examines the effectiveness of the ,federal research public access policy in providing the public with free online access to papers on research funded by each ,federal agency required to develop a policy under paragraph 7#a77;,a71 including-- 7i7 whether the terms of use applicable to such research papers in effect are effective in enabling productive reuse of the research and computational analysis by state-of-the-art technologies2 and 7ii7 examines whether such research papers should include a royalty-free copyright license that is available to the public and that permits the reuse of those research papers1 on the condition that attribution is given to the author or authors of the research and any others designated by the copyright owner4 #e4 ,downstream reporting ,any person or institution awarded a ,federal grant shall submit a statement to the head of the agency that awarded the ,federal grant certifying that-- 7#a7 no funds derived from the grant will be made available through a subgrant or subsequent grant 7including to an employee or subdivision of the grant recipient's organization7 unless the name of such recipient1 their organization of affiliation1 the intended uses and purposes of such funds1 and specific amounts subgranted or subsequently granted funds are disclosed to the head of the agency that awarded the ,federal grant for publication on a publicly accessible website2 and 7#b7 each subgrant or subsequent grant award 7including to an employee or subdivision of the grant recipient's organization7 funded with funds derived from the ,federal grant is within the scope of the ,federal grant award4 #f4 ,grant applications publicly available ,notwithstanding any other provision of law1 each application for a ,federal grant shall be made publicly available4 #g4 ,impartiality in funding scientific research ,notwithstanding any other provision of law1 each ,federal agency1 in awarding grants for scientific research1 shall be impartial and shall not seek to advance any political position or fund a grant to reach a predetermined conclusion4