Scientists For Open Access Discover Strongest Ally Is Agency Proposing To Eliminate Their Funding

EVERYWHERE, USA—Members of the open access advocacy community confirmed Tuesday that their strongest ally in the fight to reform academic publishing is now the same federal administration that has proposed cutting research funding by 40%, eliminating entire NIH institutes, and laying off thousands of federal scientists.

“We have been fighting this battle for twenty years,” said Dr. David Park, a prominent open access advocate and professor of molecular biology at Northwestern. “We have testified before Congress. We have started journals. We have begged the NIH to take a stand. And the people who took a stand are also trying to dismantle public science.” He stared at his laptop for several seconds. “I don’t know what to do with this.”

The FY2027 budget proposal includes a paragraph prohibiting the use of federal funds for expensive journal subscriptions and “prohibitively high publishing costs,” arguing that research funded by taxpayers should be publicly accessible. The paragraph is embedded in a 212-page document that also proposes reducing the NIH budget and cutting NSF by 90%. “It’s like finding a perfectly valid argument inside a car that is on fire and driving toward you,” said one NIH-funded investigator who requested anonymity.

At press time, Park had texted a colleague the paragraph with no commentary. The colleague responded "fuck." Park responded "I know."