Federal news
Bill passed
H.R.133 – Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 [became Public Law No. 116-260 on 12/27/2020; View full text here]
FY21 funding for relevant agencies are:
- $463,787,000 allocated to the National Library of Medicine (up from $456.9 million in FY20)
- $338,000,000 allocated to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (level with FY20 funding)
- $257,000,000 allocated to the Institute of Museum and Library Services (an increase from $252 million in FY20)
- $59,563,000 to the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (an increase from $58.6 million in FY20)
Funding for other institutes of the NIH and health care agencies appear on pp. 392-400. COVID relief details are under Subtitle B–COVID-related Tax Relief Act of 2020 beginning on p. 783.
Bill to watch
H.B.9009 Literature Selection Technical Review Committee Reform Act of 2020 [Introduced 12/17/20]
To amend the Public Health Service Act to increase the transparency of the process of the National Library of Medicine in listing and delisting journals in MEDLINE (or any other current or successor databases or indices), and for other purposes.
Other relevant news
Trump’s new rule restricting EPA’s use of certain science could have short life [Science, 1/6/2021]
“[The new policy] would require EPA scientists and rulemakers in many cases to discount studies in which the underlying data aren’t available for outside scrutiny.” Opponents argue, “‘This rule will enable the exclusion of highly relevant scientific evidence from the policymaking process,'” including epidemiological studies using medical data.
A new mandate highlights costs, benefits of making all scientific articles free to read [Science, 1/1/2021]
“Despite … signs of momentum, some publishing specialists say Plan S and other open-access measures could be financially stressful and ultimately unsustainable for publishers and the research institutions and authors who foot the bill.”
State news
Reminder: The Illinois Library Association Advocacy page is a great resource for both Illinois and federal legislative issues.