Comment sought on new law affecting federally funded data

Senator Richard Shelby (R‐Ala.) inserted a provision into the FY 1999 Omnibus Appropriations Bill (Public Law 105‐277) last fall “to require Federal awarding agencies to ensure that all data produced under an award will be made available to the public through the procedures established under the Freedom of Information Act.” Under the new law, most non‐profit organizations in cooperative agreements or receiving federal grants may be compelled to “provide the public with access to federally funded research data” that is “used by the Federal Government in developing policy and rules” according to bill proponents. Current rules only allow the granting agency to request raw data from researchers. The law upset some non‐profit research organizations, universities, and scientific and engineering societies about possible consequences, unintended or otherwise, to researchers and their data. To its backers, the new law simply lets the public examine data underlying Federal policy. Others worry that draft regulations, proposed by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) may compromise the scientific integrity of preliminary studies, fail to protect personal privacy, and affect intellectual property. Specifically, OMB must amend Circular A‐110, “Uniform Administrative Requirements for Grants and Agreements with Institutions of Higher Education, Hospitals, and other Non‐Profit Organizations.” A bipartisan group of representatives already wrote a letter to OMB director Jack Lew urging him to solicit input from grant‐awarding agencies, non‐profits, hospitals, and the grant‐recipient community before finalizing changes to Circular A‐110.