The U.S. House of Representatives on July 20 approved a 
measure directing the National Institutes of Health (NIH) 
to provide free public online access to agency-funded 
research findings within 12 months of their publication in 
a peer-reviewed journal. With broad bipartisan support, the 
House passed the provision as part of the FY2008 Labor, 
HHS, and Education Appropriations Bill. 

The current NIH Public Access Policy, implemented in 2005 
as a voluntary measure, has resulted in the deposit of less 
than 5% of eligible research by individual investigators. 

The Senate Appropriations Committee has approved a similar 
measure and the full Senate will consider it later this 
summer.