The National Science Foundation (NSF) announced its plan for providing public access to results of NSF-funded research.

The plan (which is set to be implemented sometime in 2016) requires final versions of manuscripts and papers:

• Be deposited in a public access compliant repository designated by NSF;
• Be available for download, reading and analysis free of charge no later than 12 months after initial publication;
• Possess a minimum set of machine-readable metadata elements in a metadata record to be made available free of charge upon initial publication;
• Be managed to ensure long-term preservation; and
• Be reported in annual and final reports during the period of the award with a persistent identifier that provides links to the full text of the publication as well as other metadata elements.

Public Access to Results of NSF-funded Research, http://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/public_access/ accessed on March 30, 2015.

You can receive updates on the NSF Public Access Initiative by subscribing to the NSF System Updates listserv - send an email to: system_updates-subscribe-request@listserv.nsf.gov

The Fair Access to Science and Technology Research Act (FASTR) was reintroduced in Congress on March 18, 2015. This is a bipartisan bill that would require certain federal departments and agencies to make research results funded by those departments and agencies freely available to the public. If passed, this bill will increase access to federally-funded research to scholars worldwide.

You can read the full text of the bill here: https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/senate-bill/779/text