Bipartisan Stem Cell Research Victory in the Senate
The Senate approved the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act (S. 5) with a strong bipartisan majority, 63-34, on April 11. The Senate also passed S. 30, the HOPE Act, 70-28. Senate leaders brokered a deal to bring both bills to a vote; no amendments were allowed and each required 60 votes to pass.
The Senate version of the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act is slightly different than H.R. 3, which the House of Representatives passed earlier this year. During negotiations about the S. 5 vote, language encouraging the National Institutes of Health to fund all types of stem cell research was added. Because of the differences in the bills, the House and Senate must agree on which version will be sent to the White House.
At press time, the Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research, a Research!America member and 2007 Advocacy Award winner, was encouraging Speaker Nancy Pelosi(CA) and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (MD) to hold a vote on S. 5 in the House. The alternative route would require the House and Senate to agree on a compromise bill in a conference committee.
Regardless of which version reaches his desk, President Bush has promised to once again veto the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act. In July 2006, Bush issued his first and only veto against H.R. 810, which strong bipartisan majorities in the House and Senate had approved. Despite strong support, the House did not reach the two-thirds majority needed to override that veto.
Prospects for an override seem slim, since neither chamber approved the current bills with a two-thirds majority. However, stem cell champion Sen. Tom Harkin (IA) has vowed "we will be back. Momentum is building. One way or another, we are going to lift these arbitrary restrictions."
Originally published 5/2007
This is only one of many articles offered in The Research Advocate. Become a member of Research!America and receive the newsletter by mail and/or e-mail every month.