--------- Forwarded message ---------- From: The Boston Globe August 13, 2001, Monday ,THIRD EDITION SECTION: NATIONAL/FOREIGN; Pg. A4 HEADLINE: CONGRESS SET TO DEBATE STEM CELL RULE KEY SENATORS SEEK BROADER FUNDING POLICY BYLINE: By Anne E. Kornblut, Globe Staff CRAWFORD, Texas - President Bush hopes to move past the controversial topic of stem cell research this week and return to his own agenda, leaving it to scientists to hash out the details of working under new guidelines he announced last Thursday. But key members of Congress are prepared to pursue the matter, giving both advocates and opponents hope that the president's decision may not be set in stone, or will at least receive further scrutiny. Next month two Democratic Senate chairmen, including Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts, will hold hearings on stem cell technology, and majority leader Thomas A. Daschle of South Dakota has said the Senate may seek to broaden the president's directive for funding research that many believe could cure grave disease. Senator Arlen Specter, Republican of Pennsylvania, plans to push forward with his bill to fund stem cell research with minimal limitations. Although he conceded yesterday that the drive to bring it to an immediate vote may have weakened, Specter said on CBS that he is "very skeptical" the Bush rules will ultimately provide enough latitude for researchers to do their work. Getting both houses of Congress to pass a bill at odds with the president's order would present a serious challenge, and two senior White House officials, chief of staff Andrew H. Card and counselor Karen Hughes, have suggested that Bush would strongly consider vetoing any alteration. At the same time, some advocates expect Congress to wait for science to evolve before pushing to change the law. Under the new rules, researchers can begin applying next year for federal funding grants to work on stem cells, as long as they are derived from embryos destroyed before Aug. 9, the date Bush made his announcement. Once that process is underway, some advocates think problems with the Bush directive will emerge, spurring a new round of policy debate. Many scientists fear that the 60 or 65 stem cell lines that reportedly fit the new rules will offer too small a pool, especially if some are unacceptable, or unavailable, for research. Among the concerns is that some stem cells could be less productive than others, lack enough genetic variation, or be closely guarded by private companies that currently hold them. "There is no consensus now, politically, for anything that involves the destruction of embryos," said Ronald M. Green, director of the Ethics Institute at Dartmouth College. But, he said, "Bush's provision is filled with problems, particularly regarding the 60 lines. I think the Senate will move ahead with broader permission than Bush has created." If the limited number is eventually portrayed as a hindrance to meaningful research, said University of Virginia political scientist Larry Sabato, "that alone will trigger a reconsideration of his policy." Among the proposals that could be revisited is the Specter bill, which would allow the use of taxpayer funds for work on thousands of frozen embryos discarded annually from fertility clinics. Another proposal is to return to the Clinton policy, which permitted federal funding of research on stem cells as long as they were derived from embryos destroyed in the private sector. But building political momentum to override the president could prove difficult in Congress, given how complex the subject is and how few members, let alone voters, fully understand it. "It's not an issue the public would necessarily be receptive to on a partisan basis," Sabato said. Strong supporters of research also are troubled by the closely related debate over cloning, which Bush said he opposes in all forms. Although there is widespread support in Congress for banning the cloning of human beings, scientists argue that cloning cells only for use in their first few weeks will become a critical part of stem cell research, because it allows them to create treatments that are genetically compatible with patients. The House has already banned all cloning, and the Senate is expected to take up the matter soon. As public debate over stem cell research grew in the months leading up to the president's announcement, the usual political lines in Congress became blurred, with several antiabortion Republicans, including Senators Bill Frist of Tennessee and Orrin Hatch of Utah, coming out in support of some form of federal funding. The same Republicans, however, have shown no inclination to push Bush further. Specter, a moderate who favors legalized abortion, is among the few voicing interest in challenging the president from within the Republican caucus. Among conservatives, efforts to ban all funding - or to take it further and criminalize embryo destruction outright - have found support in the House in the past. Yesterday, Senator Sam Brownback, the Kansas Republican leading the call to ban all funding for stem cell research conceded, "I do not think the votes are probably there presently to go against what the president has put forward" from conservatives in the Senate. But he pledged to block any attempt to expand the new rules. On the Democratic side, Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa, a cosponsor of the Specter bill, has sounded reluctant to press for broader guidelines until further medical research is available. But other Democrats are more vocal in their criticism of the Bush decision, and are considering how to proceed. Daschle told reporters last week that "the Senate will want to take action." Senator John F. Kerry of Massachusetts, a Democrat who called the announcement a "setback, but not a deterrent," alluded to a brewing legislative debate. "We will continue to push for moral and thoughtful answers on stem cell research consistent with the full promise of science," Kerry said in a statement. Kennedy, chairman of the Senate health committee that oversees medical research, was similarly vague about his course of action, saying he was "optimistic that Congress will enact the legislation needed to enable this research to move forward, with proper ethical and scientific oversight." From his committee perch, Kennedy is positioned to keep the matter in the news, and plans to do so with the hearing scheduled for Sept. 5. The Appropriations Committee has scheduled separate hearings next month as well. Anne E. Kornblut can be reached via e-mail at [log in to unmask] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn