Stem Cell Bill Passes Senate
On April 11, 2007, the Senate passed the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act (S.5) by a vote of 63 to 34. Research using embryonic stem cells is enormously promising for finding cures for spinal cord injuries and disorders (SCI/D) and many other conditions. This bill would lift the federal ban on using federal funds for embryonic stem cell research.
President Bush is expected to veto this bill. Lead sponsors Sens. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and Arlen Specter (R-Pennsylvania) noted that if one more senator can be persuaded to vote for it later this year, there will be enough Senate votes to override the veto. The House vote in favor of similar legislation (253-174) is less promising for a veto override.
To many people, it is mysterious why there is such opposition to this legislation-it would allow use only of embryos that are going to be destroyed in any case. It would require strict ethical requirements to insure that the only embryos to be used are those that otherwise would be thrown away by fertility clinics and are donated by donors with written informed consent. The donors may not receive payment or any other inducement to donate the embryos.
United Spinal Association has carefully considered the ethical concerns that have been raised regarding embryonic stem cell research and strongly believes that this legislation sufficiently addresses these concerns. Dr. Elias Zerhouni, director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and a Bush appointee, told Senators that there is a scientific consensus that the embryonic stem cell lines currently available for research using federal funds are not sufficient. He pointed out the importance of NIH being involved in this research.
By a vote of 70-28, the Senate also passed another bill (S. 30) to promote other forms of federal stem cell research (e.g., on human embryos that have died naturally)-an alternative that many experts believe is not as promising as embryonic stem cell research.
Hope for Fewer Delays at Social Security
Hooray for United Spinal members! You have made a difference. And we hope you will do it again.
Thank you to the many people who responded to our call for emails, letters, and calls to your Senators and Representative to support additional administrative funds for the Social Security Administration. If the President’s proposed budget had been passed, the Social Security Administration would have lost the equivalent of nearly 7,000 employees since 2006. This would have made the problem worse.
Thanks to those who spoke up, both the House and the Senate Budget resolutions for FY 2008 provide for more money than in the President’s proposed budget. The exact amount is to be decided in a House and Senate conference.
