Since the Access America proposal has been based on interagency cooperation and no new appropriations, no enabling legislation has been introduced. It is a public good that is not profitable enough to be provided privately but which benefits us all. It may be the most efficient way to encourage scientific breakthroughs and inventions that keep U.S. business competitive. In the proposal to close NTIS the Department of Commerce employs the conjurer's art of misdirection. Commerce focuses attention on information that seems to support their position, hoping that we won't notice the crucial elements that undermine that position.
Commerce asserts that many agencies put their reports on the Internet.
Commerce should be required to demonstrate whether NTIS reports are accessible online by analyzing a scientific sample of NTIS reports to find out how many are available on the Internet and how easy or difficult it is to find them. Commerce asserts that closing NTIS and moving its collection and database to the Library of Congress would require the least cumulative appropriations for the Department. Since the clearinghouse operations are likely to cost about the same at LC as they would at Commerce, the only way to save money is to offer fewer services, and that will adversely affect not only research and development but also public access. During times of contracting budgets, other agencies may emulate the Department of Commerce and try to end their public access obligations. There is no guarantee that the American public will have long-term access to these valuable resources if no agency is responsible for a comprehensive collection.