I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 5520 
To amend the Public Health Service Act to increase due process and trans-
parency at the National Library of Medicine in listing and delisting 
journals in MEDLINE (or any other current or successor databases 
or indices), and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 8, 2021 
Mr. JACOBS of New York introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To amend the Public Health Service Act to increase due 
process and transparency at the National Library of 
Medicine in listing and delisting journals in MEDLINE 
(or any other current or successor databases or indices), 
and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Literature Selection 
Technical Review Committee Reform Act of 2021’’. 
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SEC. 2. JOURNAL COLLECTION OF NATIONAL LIBRARY OF 
MEDICINE. 
Title IV of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 
281 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 467 of 
such Act (42 U.S.C. 286a–1) the following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 468. JOURNAL COLLECTION. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In acquiring, preserving, orga-
nizing, publishing, and disseminating journals through the 
National Library of Medicine, including through the Lit-
erature Selection Technical Review Committee (or any 
successor committee) and MEDLINE (or any other cur-
rent or successor databases or indices), the Secretary shall 
comply with the requirements of this section. 
‘‘(b) REVIEW METRICS AND METHODOLOGIES.— 
‘‘(1) SPECIFICATION OF OBJECTIVE METRIC RE-
QUIREMENT.—The Secretary shall require the Lit-
erature Selection Technical Review Committee (or 
any successor committee) to evaluate the scientific 
and editorial character and quality of a journal 
based only on an objective scoring rubric. 
‘‘(2) METRICS AND METHODOLOGIES USED TO 
INCLUDE
AND
REMOVE
JOURNALS
FROM
COLLEC-
TIONS.—The Secretary shall specify and make pub-
licly available the objective metrics and methodolo-
gies pursuant to which the Library lists and removes 
journals in the Library’s collections, including— 
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‘‘(A) all rubrics and other guidance docu-
ments used in carrying out a journal review; 
‘‘(B) the specific metrics used in deter-
mining the outcome of a journal review, includ-
ing those related to a journal’s— 
‘‘(i) scope and coverage; 
‘‘(ii) editorial policies and processes; 
‘‘(iii) scientific and methodological 
rigor; 
‘‘(iv) production and administration; 
‘‘(v) impact; and 
‘‘(vi) any other issues taken into ac-
count in determining the review outcome; 
and 
‘‘(C) the methodology for determining the 
outcome of a journal review and for ensuring 
that the outcome is objective. 
‘‘(3) INITIAL
SPECIFICATION.—The Secretary 
shall comply with this subsection beginning not later 
than 60 days after the date of enactment of this sec-
tion. 
‘‘(c) PROCESSES
FOR
AND STANDARDS
OF RE-
VIEW.—The Secretary shall specify and make publicly 
available the processes for and standards of review of jour-
nals, including— 
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‘‘(1) the scope of review; 
‘‘(2) a timeline including detailed steps of the 
review; 
‘‘(3) any other guidelines used to ensure the ob-
jectivity of reviews; and 
‘‘(4) the process used to ensure journals se-
lected for reevaluation are provided— 
‘‘(A) notice; 
‘‘(B) a clear description of why the journal 
was selected for reevaluation; and 
‘‘(C) an opportunity for the journal to ad-
dress identified concerns prior to formal sub-
mission for reevaluation. 
‘‘(d) ENSURING INDEPENDENT ADVICE AND EXPER-
TISE.—Regarding the members of the Literature Selection 
Technical Review Committee (and any successor com-
mittee): 
‘‘(1) INDEPENDENCE.—The Secretary shall ap-
point the members without regard to political affili-
ation or political campaign activity. 
‘‘(2) PROCESS.—The Secretary shall— 
‘‘(A) not less than annually, solicit nomina-
tions for potential members; and 
‘‘(B) before making an appointment— 
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‘‘(i) provide a publicly accessible 
mechanism for interested persons to com-
ment on the potential member; and 
‘‘(ii) take such comments into consid-
eration. 
‘‘(e) REEVALUATION PROCESS.— 
‘‘(1) NOTIFICATION OF INTENT TO REEVALU-
ATE.—Before selecting a journal for reevaluation for 
MEDLINE (or any other current or successor data-
bases or indices), the Secretary shall— 
‘‘(A) notify the journal in writing of the 
Secretary’s intention to refer the journal to the 
Literature Selection Technical Review Com-
mittee (or any successor committee) for review; 
‘‘(B) provide the journal a list of concerns 
that form the basis for such referral; 
‘‘(C) provide the journal a period of 60 
days, beginning on the date of such notification, 
to respond to the concerns forming the basis for 
the referral to the Literature Selection Tech-
nical Review Committee (or any successor com-
mittee) for review; and 
‘‘(D) provide for an independent review 
process that considers the concerns and the 
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journal’s response and determines whether the 
concerns were resolved. 
‘‘(2) CONCERNS NOT RESOLVED.—If a journal 
fails during the 60-day period described in para-
graph (1)(C) to resolve to the Secretary’s satisfac-
tion the concerns forming the basis for the referral 
to the Literature Selection Technical Review Com-
mittee (or any successor committee) for review, the 
Secretary shall— 
‘‘(A) provide a detailed explanation to the 
journal of the initial concerns and why the jour-
nal has not satisfactorily resolved such con-
cerns; 
‘‘(B) provide the journal a reasonable op-
portunity to meet and discuss such concerns 
and the explanation required by subparagraph 
(A); and 
‘‘(C) after providing such explanation and 
opportunity to meet, issue a determination 
about whether the journal is to be referred to 
the Literature Selection Technical Review Com-
mittee (or a successor committee) for reevalua-
tion. 
‘‘(3) RIGHT TO SUPPLEMENT APPLICATION.—A 
journal selected for reevaluation pursuant to the 
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score, any subsequent Literature Selection 
Technical Review Committee (or any suc-
cessor committee) discussion, and a de-
tailed explanation of the decision so the 
journal may address the concerns raised in 
subsequent applications; and 
‘‘(ii) a period of 60 days to appeal the 
Secretary’s decision. 
‘‘(B) NO CHANGE TO STATUS DURING AP-
PEAL.—During the 60-day period under sub-
paragraph (A) and during an appeal under 
paragraph (6), the Secretary shall not make 
any change in the journal’s status with 
MEDLINE (or any other current or successor 
databases or indices). 
‘‘(6) APPEALS.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 
establish and make publicly available a stand-
ardized process for journals to appeal a decision 
described in paragraph (5)(A). 
‘‘(B) MEETING.—Pursuant to the process 
established under subparagraph (A), the Lit-
erature Selection Technical Review Committee 
(or any successor committee) shall determine, 
at the Committee’s next meeting that takes 
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place at least 30 days after an appeal is filed, 
whether to recommend that the Secretary’s de-
cision to remove the journal involved should be 
reversed. Prior to the Committee making such 
a determination, the journal shall be afforded 
an opportunity to— 
‘‘(i) attend such meeting; 
‘‘(ii) present its appeal in person or, if 
it so chooses, in writing; and 
‘‘(iii) submit supplemental material in 
support of its appeal, which shall be pro-
vided to the Literature Selection Technical 
Review Committee (or any successor com-
mittee) for its review and consideration. 
‘‘(C) 
FINAL
RECOMMENDATION.—After 
meeting pursuant to subparagraph (B) with re-
spect to a decision to remove a journal, the Lit-
erature Selection Technical Review Committee 
(or any successor committee) shall— 
‘‘(i) make a final recommendation 
with respect such removal; and 
‘‘(ii) concurrently with the trans-
mission of such final recommendation to 
the Secretary, notify the journal of such 
final recommendation. 
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‘‘(D) FINAL DECISION.—Not later than 30 
days after receiving a final recommendation 
pursuant to subparagraph (C), the Secretary 
shall— 
‘‘(i) make a final decision as to wheth-
er the journal should be removed from 
MEDLINE (or any other current or suc-
cessor databases or indices); and 
‘‘(ii) notify the journal of such deci-
sion, including by providing a detailed ex-
planation of such decision. 
‘‘(E) POST-DECISION PERIOD.—If the Sec-
retary decides pursuant to subparagraph (D) to 
remove a journal, the Secretary shall— 
‘‘(i) notify the journal in writing and 
provide the journal a period of 30 days 
from the date of such notice to inform its 
authors, subscribers, and other relevant 
parties that the journal will no longer be 
listed on MEDLINE; and 
‘‘(ii) refrain from removing the jour-
nal until the conclusion of such 30-day pe-
riod. 
‘‘(F) RIGHT
TO
REAPPLY.—Any journal 
that is removed pursuant to this section from 
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MEDLINE (or any other current or successor 
databases or indices) shall, beginning on the 
date that is one year after the date of its re-
moval, have the right to reapply, but not more 
than once each year, to be re-listed in 
MEDLINE (or any successor databases or indi-
ces). 
‘‘(7) PREVIOUSLY DELISTED JOURNALS.—Any 
journal that was removed from MEDLINE on or 
after January 1, 2016, and before the date of enact-
ment of this section, shall be given an opportunity 
during the 60-day period following such date of en-
actment to appeal the removal decision. Any such 
appeal shall be resolved pursuant to the process de-
scribed in paragraph (6).’’. 
Æ 
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