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Brownback clone ban gets frosty reception By Alan Bjerga Eagle Washington bureau WASHINGTON -- Snubbed and shut out from Senate debate Tuesday by Majority Leader Tom Daschle, Sen. Sam Brownback continued his battle to ban human cloning. "I'd like to ask a question of the majority leader before he goes," Brownback said to Daschle's back as the South Dakota Democrat walked off the Senate floor -- without acknowledging Brownback's repeated attempts to bring up legislation banning human cloning. In morning debate, Daschle discussed economic stimulus and energy policy for more than an hour with other senators while Brownback stood at his lectern, unable to gain recognition to speak. Later in the day Daschle said he didn't expect the Senate to consider any anti-cloning legislation this year. "We ought not to rush into any decision at this point," said Daschle, citing economic stimulus and the farm bill as more pressing issues for the Senate to take up before Christmas. Despite the cold reception from the man who sets the Senate's agenda, Brownback vowed to press on. His spokesman, Erik Hotmire, repeated the senator's threat to shut down the Senate if that's what it takes to ban human cloning. "We haven't decided anything," Hotmire said. "But if one senator cares enough about something, rules and procedures can be utilized to make sure the Senate considers it." Brownback called for an immediate congressional ban on human cloning Monday after a Massachusetts research company announced Sunday that it had successfully cloned human embryos. Brownback sponsored his own anti-cloning bill last spring but now backs a House bill passed last July. By passing the House's bill, the Senate can get an anti-cloning bill to President Bush's desk more quickly. Bush said he would support the House bill. But that bill faces significant obstacles in the Senate, and Daschle is only one of them. After Daschle left the floor, Brownback tried to introduce the House anti-cloning bill under a Senate rule that allows a senator to bypass the majority leader and introduce a bill if the senator has unanimous consent to do so. But Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., quashed Brownback's effort. Reid and Sens. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and Arlen Specter, R-Penn., were the only other senators on the floor at the time. All had come to oppose Brownback. "I understand the sincerity of the senator from Kansas," Reid said. "But this is an issue people feel strongly about on the other side." Much of the scientific community, as well as numerous senators, see research into cloned embryos as a key part of stem cell research, which promises medical breakthroughs in treating diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and diabetes. Reid, alluding to the divisive abortion debate that echoes through issues such as stem cell research and human cloning, said the Senate needs more time to debate cloning. He said an agreement Brownback made before Sunday's cloning announcement to hold off anti-cloning legislation until March is the right pace for discussion. "This can be done next year," he said. Addressing Reid's concern, Brownback said he'd be willing to accept a three- or six-month moratorium on research into human cloning to allow more debate. But he insisted that immediate action is necessary; the rapid pace of cloning research could make debate inconsequential if a cloned baby arrives while the Senate talks. Let's stop this now, before the horse is out of the barn," he said. Daschle told reporters later Tuesday that he doesn't support a cloning moratorium and does not intend to let Brownback introduce anti-cloning legislation this year, although he would be willing to do so next year. "We are adamantly opposed to human cloning, but we are not opposed to (research) that will allow us to cure diseases," he said. "A six-month delay will not save lives and could extend unnecessarily the search for a cure." Brownback spent Tuesday meeting with other congressional leaders to consider what actions to take to force cloning on the Senate agenda. Hotmire said that while Brownback doesn't relish creating a congressional logjam while other important legislation is pending, he's prepared to do so. "Now the heavy lifting begins," Hotmire said. Reach Alan Bjerga at (202) 383-6055 or [log in to unmask] SOURCE: The Wichita Eagle http://web.wichitaeagle.com/content/wichitaeagle/2001/11/28/nationworld/1128brownback_txt.htm * * * ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn