APLU distributed to its Council on Governmental Affairs (CGA) a sign-on letter expressing opposition to HR 3699, the Research Works Act. This bill, introduced late last year by Representatives Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) would prohibit federal agencies from adopting or continuing any programs providing public access to published results of federally supported research. The immediate effect would be to put a stop to the NIH’s Public Access policy which established the PubMed Central database. A۰P۰L۰U has been a strong supporter of PubMed Central and other well-designed public access policies and is a signatory to the letter.  The letter is addressed to Members of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee where the bill has been referred. The letter is being circulated among a broad community of universities, patient advocacy groups, library organizations and others concerned about the bill. Please contact the government affairs office at your institution if you would like to find out more about the letter or your institution's sign-on status. You may also contact Jim Woodell (jwoodell@aplu.org, 814-414-3249) with questions.