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FROM: washingtonpost.com

House Leaders Agree to Vote On Relaxing Stem Cell Limits

By Rick Weiss
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, March 25, 2005; Page A03


The House leadership has agreed to allow a floor vote on a bill that
would loosen the restrictions on human embryonic stem cell research
imposed by President Bush in 2001, according to members of Congress and
others privy to the arrangement.

The vote, expected to take place within the next two to three months,
would be the first of its kind on the politically charged topic since
Bush declared much of the research off-limits to federal funding. The
cells show promise as treatments for many diseases but have stirred
intense controversy because they are retrieved from human embryos, which
are destroyed in the process.

"We're very pleased," said Rep. Michael N. Castle (R-Del.), a supporter
of policy change who helped broker the deal. "This is an indication they
recognize the importance of this."

Supporters of the research expressed optimism that, given a chance to
vote on the issue, both the House and Senate will back a modest loosening
of Bush's rules.

"The education level has really risen among the general public and also
among policy makers," said Lawrence Soler, a vice president with the
Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. "I think once it gets to the
floor, it will pass."

But opponents vowed a fight.

"I look forward to the opportunity to help defeat it," said Richard
Doerflinger, deputy director of pro-life activities at the U.S.
Conference of Catholic Bishops. "Then we can set aside this silly
obsession and concentrate on things that are actually working for
patients."

Bush announced his policy on Aug. 9, 2001. Saying taxpayer dollars should
not be complicit in the destruction of human embryos, he declared that
federal funds could be used for research only on stem cells derived from
embryos already destroyed as of that date.

The compromise gained at least grudging support from research proponents
as a way to get the nascent field off the ground. More than 60 colonies,
or lines, of stem cells were believed to qualify at the time.

But support morphed into frustration as it became clear that far fewer
colonies are available under the rule -- and that many of those may be
contaminated in ways that reduce their therapeutic potential.

Support for the research appears to be growing. Last year 206 members of
the House, including 31 Republicans and many opposed to abortion, signed
letters asking Bush to reconsider, as did 58 senators. A survey of 1,054
adults, conducted for the American Society for Reproductive Medicine and
due to be released today, finds that more than two-thirds of Americans
support the research.

But with opposition still vocal -- and the White House repeatedly
shooting down rumors that it might expand federal support --
Congressional leaders have opted until now to avoid an up-or-down vote. A
bill that would have allowed federal funds to be used more broadly,
introduced last June by Castle and Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.), garnered
more than 200 co-sponsors, but the House leadership prevented it from
getting hearings or a vote.

Now that bill or a similar one may have its day on the floor.

The agreement was achieved last week after Castle and others made their
case to three House leaders: Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), Majority
Whip Roy Blunt (R-Ohio) and Chief Deputy Majority Whip Eric I. Cantor
(R-Va.). The next day, Castle got the reply he had sought.

"The speaker said the leadership has met and has concluded we should move
forward in some way" on his bill or something very close to it, Castle
said.

An aide to Blunt confirmed the basic arrangement for a vote "in the next
couple of months," but House leaders declined to discuss the matter.

DeGette credited pressure from the public: "Basically, this is a train
coming down the tracks, and I think the Republican leadership is
beginning to recognize that."

Some lawmakers said they are hearing from constituents who worry about a
"brain drain" from their states, as researchers begin to move to
California and other states that support stem cell research.

How the vote would be handled remains uncertain. Castle said he is
pushing for a straight vote on the "Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act"
that he and DeGette reintroduced last month, with 183 co-sponsors so far.
The bill would allow researchers to use federal funds to study newer stem
cell lines derived from embryos discarded by fertility clinics.

The bill includes what would be the first federal ethics rules for human
embryonic stem cell research. Scientists could study only cells from
embryos created for fertility treatment and donated by the parents,
without compensation and with full knowledge of how the cells would be
used.

The bill would not allow federal funding of research on embryos made
expressly for research by cloning or any other means, a far more
contentious issue.

"People used to think it was about aborted fetuses and embryos being
created for research. Once they find out it's about embryos from IVF [in
vitro fertilization] clinics that are going to be discarded anyway, they
realize it is almost an absurd position to . . . oppose this research,"
DeGette said.

But House sources emphasized that no promises have been made to prevent
the leadership from altering the bill in a way that would make it less
attractive to stem cell supporters -- or from even replacing it with a
new bill. "That decision is with the speaker right now," said Burson
Taylor, a spokeswoman for Blunt.

Many Hill watchers believe the votes are there to pass the Senate
version, introduced by Sens. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) and Tom Harkin
(D-Iowa) -- if it ever gets to the floor. That will require a nod from
Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), a physician and possible 2008
presidential candidate who has sought to be a peacemaker in the stem cell
debate.

Frist spokesman Nick Smith said no decision has been made, but Specter
said that if the House passes the bill, Frist "would be likely to allow a
vote on it."

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said yesterday that Bush has not
changed his mind. "President Bush implemented a policy that allows for
federal funding of embryo stem cell research for the first time, and it
does so in a way that does not cross an important moral line," she said.
"He also supports adult stem cell research, which is showing great
promise."

Staff writers Ceci Connolly and Peter Baker contributed to this story.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A64316-2005Mar24.html

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