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INtroduced by Rep. Carolyn Maloney (NY) and Rep. Morella
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives supporting Federal
funding directed toward human pluripotent stem cell research to further
research into Parkinson's disease and... (Introduced in the House)
HRES 414 IH
106th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. RES. 414
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives supporting Federal
funding directed toward human pluripotent stem  cell research to further
research into Parkinson's disease and other medical conditions
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 2, 2000
Mrs. MALONEY of New York (for herself and Mrs. MORELLA) submitted the
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Commerce

RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives supporting Federal
funding directed toward human pluripotent stem  cell research to further
research into Parkinson's disease and other medical conditions.
Whereas Parkinson's disease is a relentlessly progressive degenerative
disease which kills a specialized and vital type of brain cell, a brain
cell which produces a substance, dopamine, that is essential for normal
movement and balance;
Whereas the loss of these dopamine-producing cells  causes symptoms,
including slowness and paucity of movement, tremor, stiffness, and
difficulty walking and balancing, rendering the afflicted person
incapable of carrying out the normal activities of daily living;
Whereas in 30 percent of Parkinson's disease patients, a dementia occurs
that is similar to Alzheimer's disease;
Whereas Parkinson's disease worsens over time, inflicting a horrific
physical, emotional, and financial burden on the patient and family,
requiring a caregiver to assist in the activities of daily living, and
may eventually lead to placement in a nursing home until death;
Whereas Parkinson's disease affects one million Americans--one percent of
the population over age 60 and two percent of the population over age 70;
Whereas 50,000 Americans are diagnosed with Parkinson's disease each
year--six Americans per hour;
Whereas for each American with Parkinson's disease who is diagnosed,
there are two who have Parkinson's disease but are not diagnosed--two
million Americans with Parkinson's disease who are undiagnosed--two
percent of the population over age 60 and four percent of the population
over age 70;
Whereas Parkinson's disease costs the Federal Government approximately
$10 billion each year in medicare, medicaid, hospital, and nursing home
outlays;
Whereas on average, medications, doctor visits, physical therapy, and
hospital stays cost each patient $5,000 per year;
Whereas as a society, we spend $15 billion a year on Parkinson's
disease--without considering the indirect costs of lost income, missed
opportunities, and family disruptions;
Whereas those $15 billion result in treatments that bring only temporary
relief--allowing patients to live longer only to develop the more
disabling and untreatable Alzheimer's-like dementia;
Whereas the ability to generate specialized cells , such as the
dopamine-producing cells  that are lost in Parkinson's disease, will
allow us to learn how to generate the specialized cells  that are lost in
other crippling, devastating, and heretofore untreatable conditions of
the nervous system, such as Alzheimer's disease, brain injury, birth
defects, spinal cord injury, stroke, muscular dystrophy, and Lou Gehrig's
disease;
Whereas the ability to generate specialized cells  that are lost in
diseases of the nervous system will also allow us to learn how to
generate the specialized cells  that are lost in such devastating
disorders as heart disease, lung disease, kidney disease, liver disease,
diabetes, AIDS, sickle-cell anemia, and arthritis;
Whereas this research will be carried out with human pluripotent stem
cells , primitive cells  that are the forerunners of the specialized
cells  that are lost in many of the currently incurable diseases;
Whereas stem  cells , unlike the specialized cells  they replace, can be
refitted, reprogrammed, and rearranged to reproduce lost function;
Whereas human pluripotent stem  cell research may solve the problem of
graft rejection (that is, the body's reaction against foreign tissue),
resulting in dramatic improvements in the treatment of a number of
life-threatening conditions, such as burns and kidney failure, for which
transplantation is currently used;
Whereas human pluripotent stem  cell research may provide safer and more
effective ways to test drugs without experimenting on humans or animals;
Whereas Federal funds are crucial to allow scientists to proceed with
stem  cell research and to exploit fully this novel, innovative, and
ground-breaking technology; and
Whereas according to the Department of Health and Human Services,
research utilizing human pluripotent stem  cells  does not violate the
ban on Federal funding of human embryo research in section 511 of the
Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and
Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999 (as contained in section 101(f)
of division A of Public Law 105-277) (112 Stat. 2681-386), because such
stem  cells  are not embryos: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives supports Federal funding
directed toward human pluripotent stem  cell research to further research
into Parkinson's disease and other medical conditions.


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