Dear Friend of Digital Freedom,

When we pay for federally funded research, we should be allowed to read it. That’s the simple premise of the Fair Access to Science and Technology Research Act (FASTR).

FASTR was first introduced in Congress three years ago. Over that time, thousands of you have made your voices heard and forced lawmakers to take open access seriously. Now, FASTR is out of committee and ready for a vote on the Senate floor. Let’s send the message to senators that when they return from recess next week, FASTR should be their first priority.

Under FASTR, every federal agency that spends more than $100 million on grants for research would be required to adopt an open access policy that gives the public access to all research no later than 12 months after publication.

FASTR isn’t a perfect bill. An ideal open access mandate would require that the research be shared under a license that allows anyone not only to read the research, but also to reuse and redistribute it for any purpose. It would also have a much shorter embargo period. That said, this is a crucial moment for Congress to take action, and FASTR is the best option on the table.

Tell the Senate to move FASTR

Thank you,

Elliot Harmon
Activism Team
Electronic Frontier Foundation

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