[Vision2020] Stem-Cell Bill Passes, Will Likely See Veto

[Tom Hansen]

>From today's (April 12, 2007) Spokesman Review -

"The Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act" (ensure to copy and paste the
entire URL, including the :: at the end)
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?c110:2:./temp/~c1108iJAwu::

"The candidates running to succeed Bush largely endorse federally supported
stem-cell research. That support, coupled with the backing of a majority of
Americans, means change is almost certain."

Idaho senators Craig and Crapo voted against this bill.

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Stem-cell bill passes, will likely see veto 
Nicole Gaouette 
Los Angeles Times
April 12, 2007

WASHINGTON - The Senate voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to reject
restrictions President Bush has placed on embryonic stem-cell research. Bush
plans to veto the bill, but his restrictions may not last for long after his
presidency.

The candidates running to succeed Bush largely endorse federally supported
stem-cell research. That support, coupled with the backing of a majority of
Americans, means change is almost certain.

Bush has cast stem-cell research as a moral issue intimately connected to
the question of when life begins, a question that echoed throughout the
second day of Senate debate. Bush used the only veto of his career to
overturn a similar bill last year.

But the majority of leading Democratic and Republican candidates support
research on embryonic stem cells.

Former Sen. John Edwards, a North Carolina Democrat, strongly supports the
research, while Democratic hopefuls Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., and
Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., co-sponsored the Senate bill that would expand
the number of embryonic stem-cell lines eligible for federally funded
research.

That bill, known as the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act, or S5, passed
63-34. Sixty-seven votes are needed to overturn a presidential veto. The
House passed its version of the bill in January, 253-174, also short of the
votes necessary to override a veto.

Candidate Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., supports expanded funding for embryonic
stem-cell research, as long as embryos are not intentionally created for
research.

Former New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, a Republican who has few fans
among conservatives for his support for abortion, has taken a fuzzy
position. 

Mitt Romney, the former Republican governor of Massachusetts, supported
embryonic stem-cell research before 2005, but now strikes a balance. He
still supports research with cells that would otherwise be discarded by
fertility clinics, but he opposes federal funding for that work. 

Only Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., opposes almost all embryonic stem-cell
research. He led much of the debate on a second stem-cell bill the Senate
approved 70-28. Penned by conservatives and the White House, it would expand
funding for research on dead embryonic cells and other types of stem cells.

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How they voted 
The Senate voted 63-34 Wednesday to ease restrictions on federally funded
embryonic stem-cell research. A yes vote was a vote to pass the bill.

Idaho: Craig (R) No; Crapo (R) No

Washington: Cantwell (D) Yes; Murray (D) Yes.

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Seeya round town, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

"The Pessimist complains about the wind, the Optimist expects it to change
and the REALIST adjusts his sails." 
- Unknown