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Senate Passes Stem-Cell Measure Bush Says He'll Veto
By William Roberts and Scott Cendrowski
April 11 (Bloomberg) -- The Senate fell short of a veto- proof margin in approving legislation today to lift President George W. Bush's 2001 ban on federal funding for new embryonic stem-cell research.
The Senate voted 63-34 in favor of expanding federal funding for stem-cell research using discarded human embryos. The vote showed little shift in Republican support for stem cell research after Democrats won control of Congress in the 2006 election campaigning on a promise to lift Bush's ban.
Supporters had sought to secure the two-thirds of the Senate needed to override a promised presidential veto. Bush reiterated he will veto the bill when it reaches his desk.
``This bill crosses a moral line that I and many others find troubling,'' Bush said in a statement released by the White House after the Senate vote. ``If it advances all the way through Congress to my desk, I will veto it.''
Three Democratic senators who would have voted `yes' were absent, meaning the vote might have totaled 66 had all three been present. ``I would have voted `aye' had I been here to vote,'' said Senator Mary Landrieu, a Louisiana Democrat who said she missed the vote because she was traveling.
Connecticut Senator Christopher Dodd also didn't vote, nor did South Dakota Senator Tim Johnson, who is recovering from a brain hemorrhage.
``In reality, we do have 66 votes,'' said Senator Tom Harkin, an Iowa Democrat and leading sponsor of the legislation. ``Three better than last year. So the momentum is building. I think the overwhelming majority of Americans and their members of Congress want to take the shackles off researchers.''
Hope for Cures
Advocates of stem-cell research say using cells taken from discarded human embryos may lead to cures for diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's, juvenile diabetes and Lou Gehrig's disease as well as spinal cord injuries and other ailments.
Bush issued an executive order in August 2001 prohibiting federal support for research using newly created embryonic stem cells on grounds it would destroy human life. He allowed research to continue on about 71 pre-existing embryonic stem- cell lines, of which 21 remain viable for research.
Elias Zerhouni, director of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, told Congress last month the available lines under Bush's order aren't sufficient, and ``the momentum of research'' in the U.S. can't be sustained unless the ban is lifted.
Congress passed a law last year lifting the ban and Bush used the first veto of his presidency to block it.
``We cannot have tomorrow's miracles if we tie scientists hands with yesterday's rules,'' said Republican Senator Gordon Smith of Oregon. ``It is a morally right thing to do. It is a pro-life thing to do.''
`Moral Boundary'
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, said the ``moral boundary that it crosses is troubling to me and to others.
``Biomedical research must be done in an ethical manner and with respect for human life,'' he said.
Senator Bob Corker, a Tennessee Republican who replaced former Majority Leader Bill Frist, voted against the measure. Frist, a medical doctor, had voted in favor of the bill.
Three Democrats voting for the bill replaced Republicans in November's election who voted against the bill last year. They were Jon Tester of Montana, Jim Webb of Virginia, and Claire McCaskill of Missouri.
Democrats Bob Casey of Pennsylvania and Ben Nelson of Nebraska voted against the measure.
Two-Thirds Majority
If all 100 members of the Senate were to vote, a veto override would require 67 votes. With only 99 present and voting the number would be 66.
Advocates and opponents said there isn't enough support in the House to override a veto. The House voted 253-174 on Jan. 11 to lift the ban, short of the two-thirds needed to override.
``It's going to be vetoed, and it's unlikely there's going to be a veto override,'' said Senator Sam Brownback, a Kansas Republican who opposes using embryonic stem cells for research.
Harkin said supporters may try to attach the legislation to a spending measure that must pass because it funds government agencies.
Privately funded researchers and state institutions aren't prevented from conducting the research, and scientists in the U.S. are conducting a wide range of experiments using stem cells derived from embryos. Advocates say federal funding would give U.S. researchers a greater opportunity to make advances.
Second Proposal
The Senate measure would allow federal funding for stem- cell research using lines derived under strict ethical requirements from among excess in-vitro-fertilization embryos.
A second proposal, sponsored by Minnesota Republican Senator Norm Coleman, passed 70-28, would promote research into developing stem-cell lines that wouldn't require the destruction of potentially viable human embryos.
Coleman urged its approval as a path around ethical constraints so that federal funds could be used to support new research without undoing Bush's ban or provoking a presidential veto.
``Scientific research should be something that we as a society can embrace,'' Coleman said.
Senator Johnny Isakson, a Georgia Republican who co- sponsored the alternative Senate proposal, said it allows ``the promise of embryonic stem-cell research'' to go forward while ensuring that ``ethical lines are not crossed.''
By William Roberts and Scott Cendrowski
April 11 (Bloomberg) -- The Senate fell short of a veto- proof margin in approving legislation today to lift President George W. Bush's 2001 ban on federal funding for new embryonic stem-cell research.
The Senate voted 63-34 in favor of expanding federal funding for stem-cell research using discarded human embryos. The vote showed little shift in Republican support for stem cell research after Democrats won control of Congress in the 2006 election campaigning on a promise to lift Bush's ban.
Supporters had sought to secure the two-thirds of the Senate needed to override a promised presidential veto. Bush reiterated he will veto the bill when it reaches his desk.
``This bill crosses a moral line that I and many others find troubling,'' Bush said in a statement released by the White House after the Senate vote. ``If it advances all the way through Congress to my desk, I will veto it.''
Three Democratic senators who would have voted `yes' were absent, meaning the vote might have totaled 66 had all three been present. ``I would have voted `aye' had I been here to vote,'' said Senator Mary Landrieu, a Louisiana Democrat who said she missed the vote because she was traveling.
Connecticut Senator Christopher Dodd also didn't vote, nor did South Dakota Senator Tim Johnson, who is recovering from a brain hemorrhage.
``In reality, we do have 66 votes,'' said Senator Tom Harkin, an Iowa Democrat and leading sponsor of the legislation. ``Three better than last year. So the momentum is building. I think the overwhelming majority of Americans and their members of Congress want to take the shackles off researchers.''
Hope for Cures
Advocates of stem-cell research say using cells taken from discarded human embryos may lead to cures for diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's, juvenile diabetes and Lou Gehrig's disease as well as spinal cord injuries and other ailments.
Bush issued an executive order in August 2001 prohibiting federal support for research using newly created embryonic stem cells on grounds it would destroy human life. He allowed research to continue on about 71 pre-existing embryonic stem- cell lines, of which 21 remain viable for research.
Elias Zerhouni, director of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, told Congress last month the available lines under Bush's order aren't sufficient, and ``the momentum of research'' in the U.S. can't be sustained unless the ban is lifted.
Congress passed a law last year lifting the ban and Bush used the first veto of his presidency to block it.
``We cannot have tomorrow's miracles if we tie scientists hands with yesterday's rules,'' said Republican Senator Gordon Smith of Oregon. ``It is a morally right thing to do. It is a pro-life thing to do.''
`Moral Boundary'
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, said the ``moral boundary that it crosses is troubling to me and to others.
``Biomedical research must be done in an ethical manner and with respect for human life,'' he said.
Senator Bob Corker, a Tennessee Republican who replaced former Majority Leader Bill Frist, voted against the measure. Frist, a medical doctor, had voted in favor of the bill.
Three Democrats voting for the bill replaced Republicans in November's election who voted against the bill last year. They were Jon Tester of Montana, Jim Webb of Virginia, and Claire McCaskill of Missouri.
Democrats Bob Casey of Pennsylvania and Ben Nelson of Nebraska voted against the measure.
Two-Thirds Majority
If all 100 members of the Senate were to vote, a veto override would require 67 votes. With only 99 present and voting the number would be 66.
Advocates and opponents said there isn't enough support in the House to override a veto. The House voted 253-174 on Jan. 11 to lift the ban, short of the two-thirds needed to override.
``It's going to be vetoed, and it's unlikely there's going to be a veto override,'' said Senator Sam Brownback, a Kansas Republican who opposes using embryonic stem cells for research.
Harkin said supporters may try to attach the legislation to a spending measure that must pass because it funds government agencies.
Privately funded researchers and state institutions aren't prevented from conducting the research, and scientists in the U.S. are conducting a wide range of experiments using stem cells derived from embryos. Advocates say federal funding would give U.S. researchers a greater opportunity to make advances.
Second Proposal
The Senate measure would allow federal funding for stem- cell research using lines derived under strict ethical requirements from among excess in-vitro-fertilization embryos.
A second proposal, sponsored by Minnesota Republican Senator Norm Coleman, passed 70-28, would promote research into developing stem-cell lines that wouldn't require the destruction of potentially viable human embryos.
Coleman urged its approval as a path around ethical constraints so that federal funds could be used to support new research without undoing Bush's ban or provoking a presidential veto.
``Scientific research should be something that we as a society can embrace,'' Coleman said.
Senator Johnny Isakson, a Georgia Republican who co- sponsored the alternative Senate proposal, said it allows ``the promise of embryonic stem-cell research'' to go forward while ensuring that ``ethical lines are not crossed.''
