Conyers Fights NIH Internet Mandate

House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers late Tuesday introduced legislation that would overturn a recent mandate that the National Institutes of Health require federally supported scientists to submit their research manuscripts for free public access on the Internet. The requirement passed as part of the fiscal year 2008 Labor-Health and Human Services appropriations bill without allowing input by committees with expertise and oversight on copyright. Open access and consumer advocates championed the NIH's new requirement while publishers panned it, arguing that it could put subscription-based scientific journals out of business.