Title: Literature Selection Technical Review Committee Reform Act of 2020
Policy area: Health

Summary:
Literature Selection Technical Review Committee Reform Act of 2020
This bill makes various changes to the processes used by the National Library of Medicine to select scientific journals for inclusion in its databases, including by requiring the library to make publicly available the metrics used to determine whether to list or delist journals.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9009 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 9009

To amend the Public Health Service Act to increase the transparency of 
    the process of 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

                           December 17, 2020

  Mr. Gosar 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 the transparency of 
    the process of 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 Representatives 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 2020''.

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, organizing, 
publishing, and disseminating journals through the National Library of 
Medicine, including through the Literature Selection Technical Review 
Committee (or any successor committee) and MEDLINE (or any other 
current or successor databases or indices), the Secretary shall comply 
with the requirements of this section.
    ``(b) Scoring Rubric.--
            ``(1) Specification of metrics.--The Secretary shall 
        specify and make publicly available the metrics pursuant to 
        which the Library lists and delists journals in the Library's 
        collections, including--
                    ``(A) the quality and importance metrics used;
                    ``(B) the ethics policies metrics; and
                    ``(C) the methodology for calculating a journal's 
                overall rating.
            ``(2) Initial specification.--The Secretary shall comply 
        with paragraph (1) beginning not later than 60 days after the 
        date of enactment of this section.
    ``(c) Ensuring Independent Advice and Expertise.--Regarding the 
members of the Literature Selection Technical Review Committee (and any 
successor committee):
            ``(1) Independence.--The Secretary shall appoint the 
        members without regard to political affiliation or political 
        campaign activity.
            ``(2) Process.--The Secretary shall--
                    ``(A) not less than annually, solicit nominations 
                for potential members; and
                    ``(B) before making an appointment--
                            ``(i) provide a publicly accessible 
                        mechanism for interested persons to comment on 
                        the potential member; and
                            ``(ii) take such comments into 
                        consideration.
    ``(d) Delisting Process.--
            ``(1) Notification.--Before delisting a journal from 
        MEDLINE (or any other current or successor databases or 
        indices), the Secretary shall--
                    ``(A) notify the journal of the Secretary's 
                intention to refer the journal to the Literature 
                Selection Technical Review Committee (or any successor 
                committee) for review; and
                    ``(B) give 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 Technical Review Committee (or 
                any successor committee) for review.
            ``(2) Concerns not resolved.--
                    ``(A) Process.--If a journal fails during the 60-
                day period described in paragraph (1)(B) to resolve to 
                the Secretary's satisfaction the concerns forming the 
                basis for the referral to the Literature Selection 
                Technical Review Committee (or any successor committee) 
                for review, the Secretary shall--
                            ``(i) provide a detailed explanation to the 
                        journal of the initial concerns and why the 
                        journal has not satisfactorily resolved these 
                        concerns; and
                            ``(ii) after providing such explanation, 
                        issue a decision referring the journal to the 
                        Literature Selection Technical Review Committee 
                        (or a successor committee) for review.
                    ``(B) Right to be present.--A journal being 
                reviewed pursuant to subparagraph (A)(ii)(II) shall 
                have the right to be present at such review.
            ``(3) Period for appeal.--
                    ``(A) In general.--If, upon review pursuant to 
                paragraph (2)(A)(ii), the Literature Selection 
                Technical Review Committee (or any successor committee) 
                recommends that a journal be delisted from MEDLINE (or 
                any other current or successor databases or indices), 
                and the Secretary agrees with such recommendation and 
                issues a decision to delist the journal, the journal 
                shall have a period of 60 days to appeal the 
                Secretary's decision pursuant to paragraph (4).
                    ``(B) No change to status during appeal.--During 
                the 60-day period under subparagraph (A) and during an 
                appeal under paragraph (4), the Secretary shall not 
                make any change in the journal's status with MEDLINE 
                (or any other current or successor databases or 
                indices).
            ``(4) Appeals.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall establish 
                and make publicly available a standardized process for 
                journals to appeal a decision described in paragraph 
                (3)(A).
                    ``(B) Meeting.--Under the process under 
                subparagraph (A), the Literature Selection Technical 
                Review Committee (or any successor committee) shall 
                determine, at the Committee's next meeting that takes 
                place at least 30 days after an appeal is filed, 
                whether to recommend that the Secretary's decision to 
                delist 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; and
                            ``(ii) present its appeal in person or, if 
                        it so chooses, in writing.
                    ``(C) Final recommendation.--After meeting pursuant 
                to subparagraph (B) with respect to a decision to 
                delist a journal, the Literature Selection Technical 
                Review Committee (or any successor committee) shall--
                            ``(i) make a final recommendation with 
                        respect such delisting; and
                            ``(ii) concurrently with the transmission 
                        of such final recommendation to the Secretary, 
                        notify the journal of such final 
                        recommendation.
                    ``(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 whether 
                        the journal should be delisted from MEDLINE (or 
                        any other current or successor databases or 
                        indices); and
                            ``(ii) notify the journal of such decision, 
                        including by providing a detailed explanation 
                        of such decision.
                    ``(E) Post-decision period.--If the Secretary 
                decides pursuant to subparagraph (D) to delist a 
                journal, the Secretary shall--
                            ``(i) give the journal a period of 30 days 
                        to inform its authors, subscribers, and other 
                        relevant parties that the journal will no 
                        longer be listed; and
                            ``(ii) refrain from delisting the journal 
                        until the conclusion of such 30-day period.
                    ``(F) Right to reapply.--Any journal that is 
                delisted pursuant to this section from MEDLINE (or any 
                other current or successor databases or indices) shall, 
                beginning on the date that is one year after the date 
                of its delisting, have the right to reapply, but not 
                more than once each year, to be re-listed in MEDLINE 
                (or any successor databases or indices).
            ``(5) Previously delisted journals.--Any journal that was 
        delisted from MEDLINE on or after January 1, 2016, and before 
        the date of enactment of this section, shall be given an 
        opportunity during the 60-day period following such date of 
        enactment to appeal the delisting. Any such appeal shall be 
        resolved pursuant to the process described in paragraph (4).''.
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