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Thank you, Linda, for keeping us up to date on the NIH priorities. Unfortunately, one of the priority items, stem cell research, would be jeopardized should George W. Bush be elected, according to a June 8 article by Morton Kondracke: "... Bush is siding with the pro-life movement on the issue of federal funding of medical research using embryonic stem cells, which has the promise of curing diseases including diabetes, cancer and Alzheimer’s. "...Bush’s position was first disclosed in the Wall Street Journal on May 30. The governor’s aides told me he favors a ban on federal funding for stem-cell research “because of his pro-life views.” Asked how much politics weighed into the decision, they said, “Very little.” "According to aides, Bush also opposes federal research using tissue obtained from aborted fetuses, although that would be harder to stop by presidential executive order because it’s been authorized by Congress. "The right-to-life movement fought fetal tissue research in the 1980s and successfully persuaded Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush’s father to ban federal funding by executive order. "During various Congressional fights to lift the ban, disease groups won over such pro-lifers as then-Sen. Bob Dole, R-Kan, and Sens. Strom Thurmond, R-S.C.; Pete Domenici, R-N.M.; Connie Mack, R- Fla.; and John McCain, R-Ariz. "Dole declared in one debate that permitting research to fight disease was 'the pro-life position to take.' President George Bush vetoed Congress’ lifting of his ban, but President Clinton and Congress reversed that policy in 1993...." See the complete article at http://www.rollcall.com/pages/columns/kondracke/00/ kond0608.html For background on this issue: NIH has a good introductory article on stem cells at http://www.nih.gov/news/stemcell/primer.htm and further info at http://www.nih.gov/news/stemcell/index.htm The Association of American Medical Colleges web site has been tracking the Congressional stem cell debates and documents: http://www.aamc.org/advocacy/issues/research/stemcell1.htm Our Senators and Representatives must be contacted and urged to support stem cell research. Senators also must support Sen. Arlen Specter's bill S2015, which would permit federally funded researchers to derive stem cells under NIH guidelines from discarded embryos created during in-vitro fertilization. Phil Tompkins Amherst, Mass. age 62/dx 1990