Action on legislation to open access to government-funded research is likely in the 110th Congress, a key observer said Monday.

Heather Joseph, executive director of the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition, said in an interview that free, online access to research normally only available in expensive journals would allow cash-strapped institutes and scientists to get the most cutting-edge research.

"It's a competitive advantage. It builds innovation," she said, adding that bipartisan competitiveness initiatives could fuel passage of the legislation.

Another factor in favor of action now is that one of the sponsors of the bill, independent Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut, now chairs the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. His previous proposal would have directed agencies that spend more than $100 million annually in funding outside research to publicly post electronic manuscripts of peer-reviewed articles within six months of original publication.