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1/11/2007 - The Parkinson's Action Network (PAN) on Thursday applauded the House of Representatives for overwhelmingly passing legislation to expand embryonic stem cell research. The legislation, H.R. 3, the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act, passed by a bi-partisan vote of 253-174. The vote represents 15 more yes votes than during the 109th Congress (H.R. 810). PAN now turns to the Senate and asks that they pass S. 5, the Senate version of the same bill. “The stronger support we see in this vote from last year solidifies what we already know: the majority of Americans are in favor of expanding scientific research,” said Amy L. Comstock, CEO, PAN. “On behalf of the Parkinson’s community, I would like to thank the House members who voted for this critical legislation. I now urge our Senators to pass S. 5 with great support.” Prior to voting for HR 3, the House defeated a motion to recommit the bill which would have placed severe restrictions on institutions where somatic cell nuclear transfer research takes place. The motion to recommit fell by a vote of 189-238. The legislation would expand current policy to allow federal dollars to be used for stem cell research on donated embryos from fertility clinic patients. This legislation also specifies strict ethical guidelines. The stem cells may only be derived from In Vitro Fertilization (IVF)-created embryos that would otherwise be discarded. The current Administration policy states that federal funds may only be used for research on embryonic stem cell cultures created prior to August 9, 2001. More than 120 million Americans suffer from chronic and life- threatening diseases, such as Parkinson’s disease, diabetes, cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer’s, Multiple Sclerosis, HIV/AIDS, ALS, osteoporosis and spinal cord injuries. Medical researchers have discovered that many diseases and injuries could potentially be treated or cured by new regenerative medicine therapies involving stem cells. The Senate is expected to take up S. 5 in the coming weeks. See how your Members voted on HR 3 here: http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2007/roll020.xml Check out the final tally on the motion to recommit here: http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2007/roll019.xml ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn