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FRom Kaisernetwork.org Rep. DeGette Requests Meeting With President Bush on Embryonic Stem Cell Research Bill Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) last week said she has requested a face-to-face meeting with President Bush regarding a bill (HR 810) she has co-sponsored that would expand federal funding for human embryonic stem cell research, the Denver Post reports (Mulkern, Denver Post, 6/5). Bush on Aug. 9, 2001, announced a policy that allows federal funding for embryonic stem cell research only when it uses stem cell lines created on or before that date. DeGette's bill, which was approved by the House last year, would allow federal funding for research using stem cells derived from embryos originally created for fertility treatments and willingly donated by patients. Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), sponsor of the Senate version of the bill (S 471), in October 2005 said that Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) agreed to make consideration of the bill a priority when Congress reconvened in January 2006. Frist last month said the Senate will debate three separate bills on stem cell research, but he did not stipulate which measures would be discussed (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 6/2). DeGette -- during a phone interview from London, where she went to examine stem cell research efforts in the United Kingdom -- said from what she knows, none of the bills Frist is considering to bring to the Senate floor would affect HR 810. Bush has said he would veto the bill if it were passed by the Senate. "All I request is that [Bush] sit down face-to-face with me and let me try to explain the impact this bill will have on the millions of people who suffer from ... diseases," such as Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, and type 1 diabetes, DeGette said. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), who supports HR 810, believes it is possible to obtain the 67 votes in the Senate necessary to override a presidential veto, his spokesperson Peter Carr said. However, the House last year voted 238-194 to approve the bill, short of the two-thirds majority needed to override a veto (Denver Post, 6/5). Sign up for for email delivery of the Daily Reports, the Kaiser First Edition, or any of our other free email alerts. Email [log in to unmask] with story submissions and press releases. kaisernetwork.org -- a free service of the Kaiser Family Foundation -- provides in-depth coverage of health policy news, debates and discussions to policymakers, the media and general public. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn