MIT grad students lobby for FRPAA in DC

Ana Lyons, GSC Takes Graduate Student Welfare Bill To Washington D.C., The Tech, November 17, 2009.

MIT's Graduate Student Council (GSC) recently added national policy to its otherwise campus-based advocacy agenda, pushing for tax exemption of graduate student stipends, open access to federally funded published research, and higher caps on H1-B visas for advanced-degree holders to members of Congress earlier this fall. ...

The GSC also felt that the pending Federal Research Public Access Act of 2009 (S. 1373) was worth lobbying for. By making federally funded research over $100 million dollars open access, it would "enhance advanced research access and ensure that taxpayer-funded research is available to those who paid for it." ...

Executive members of MIT's GSC travelled to Washington, D.C. to lobby for graduate student stipend tax exemptions, lifting the H1-B visa cap, and implementing open access publication policies for federally funded research as part of the [National Association of Graduate-Professional Students]'s annual "Legislative Action Days" from last September 30 to October 2. ...

[President Alex Hamilton] Chan, Vice President Kevin A. McComber, and Alex J. Evans represented MIT's GSC lobbying interests at the annual event and independently presented their support for the three issues to the offices of eleven Congressmen. ...

Chan said the GSC chose to focus on the stipend tax exemption, open access publications, and H1-B visa reform compared to the other suggested issues because they were among the most relevant to graduate student life at MIT and best aligned with the current legislative activity on Capital Hill. ...

McComber also pointed out that "one of the big expenses [for MIT libraries] is journal subscriptions," making federally funded research open access appealing to MIT grad students and taxpayers alike.

"Publishers are commanding a very unhealthy sum in this area," said Chan.

Solidifying their platform on these lobbying issues, the GSC signed "The Student Statement on the Right to Research" on the Federal Research Public Access Act and plans to continue lobbying efforts in the spring. ...