CBO Scores Fair Access to Science and Technology Research Act

The Fair Access to Science and Technology Research Act of 2015 (S 779) would require federal agencies that spend $100 million or more annually on extramural research activities to make the results of such research freely available on the Internet. The bill also would direct the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to issue reports on the effectiveness of this bill in making government research available to the public. CBO estimates that implementing S 779 would not have a significant federal cost. The bill could affect direct spending by agencies not funded through annual appropriations; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures apply. CBO estimates, however, that any net increase in spending by those agencies would not be significant. Enacting S. 779 would not affect revenues.