Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Scientific Research Accessibility and Transparency Act of 2024”.
Scientific Research Accessibility and Transparency Act of 2024
A BILL
To require the public release of all research supported by the National Institutes of Health.
Sec. 2 Findings
Congress finds as follows:
According to the New York Times article, “U.S. Study on Puberty Blockers Goes Unpublished Because of Politics, Doctor Says” (October 23, 2024)—
Dr. Johanna Olson-Kennedy led a study funded by the National Institutes of Health concluding that the mental health of children with gender dysmorphia did not improve after taking puberty blockers;
Dr. Olson-Kennedy’s team has delayed the release of data from this study because it may be used for political causes with which she personally disagrees;
the project associated with Dr. Olson-Kennedy’s study has received $9,700,000 in government funding; and
the National Institutes of Health lets researchers independently decide how and when to publish their findings.
Scientific researchers in the United States have a duty to release properly collected scientific data, even if such data does not comport with the political interests of the researchers.
The American public has a right to access data that was collected using taxpayer dollars, regardless of the political interests of the researchers collecting the data.
Sec. 3 Publication of NIH research
Part B of title IV of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 284 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
“409K. Publication of research
“(a) In general—With respect to any research conducted by the National Institutes of Health or with the support of funding made available by the National Institutes of Health, not later than 1 year after the conclusion of the research, the National Institutes of Health or the person receiving such funding, as applicable, shall make available for publication on the website of the National Institutes of Health, and the National Institutes of Health shall publish on such website, in an easily accessible manner—
“(1) a report on such research; or
“(2) if the person conducting such research does not complete a report on the research, all raw data collected through the research.
“(b) Noncompliance—Any person that does not comply with the requirements of subsection (a) shall be ineligible for funding from the National Institutes of Health for a period of 5 years, beginning on the date on which the report or raw data was required to be made available for publication in accordance with subsection (a).”