Responses to the White House’s request for input on options for increasing public access to research outputs run the gamut from denouncing the prospect of government intervention in the publishing sector to calling for a new paradigm that offers immediate free access to papers.

With the White House’s early response drawing broad criticism, top government officials are scrambling to mobilize scientific expertise and resources to blunt the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.

With word of a potential open access executive order reverberating across the scientific community, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy is seeking further stakeholder input as it moves to increase public access to research results.

President Trump’s latest budget request largely repeats past proposals to sharply reduce funding for non-defense R&D programs across the federal government. However, it includes a stronger emphasis on research tied to the administration’s “Industries of the Future” focus areas, especially artificial intelligence and quantum information science.