http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20011010/pl/senate_stem_cells_2.html
Wednesday October 10 8:36 PM ET
WASHINGTON (AP) - Federally financed
but limited stem cell research would be explicitly allowed for the first
time, and President Bush would have discretion over how to do it, under
a bill approved Wednesday by a Senate subcommittee.
The language, written by Sen. Arlen
Specter, R-Pa., would let Bush follow through on his proposal to restrict
the research to the 64 stem cell lines that he said already exist.
But it would also permit him to go
further, as long as the embryos used for the research would otherwise be
destroyed and permission for their use has been granted by the people whose
fertility treatments created them.
The measure's fate seemed uncertain
as White House spokesman Scott McClellan said Bush would stand by his earlier
decision on stem cell research policy. McClellan said the White House prefers
a House version of the measure, which makes no changes in current law.
Specter's language was included in
a measure providing $123.1 billion for federal education, labor and health
programs for the new fiscal year. The provision is supported by Sen. Tom
Harkin (news - bio - voting record), D-Iowa, who chairs the Senate Appropriations
Committee subcommittee that approved the legislation.
The House plans to vote Thursday
on its version of the spending bill.
It was initially unclear what reception
the proposal would get from congressional critics of Bush's policy.
Some lawmakers and others believe
Bush opened the door too far for the research, while others felt the president's
plan was too restrictive. But even before last month's terrorist attacks
put the stem cell issue onto Washington's back burners, neither side sensed
that it had the votes to force changes in Bush's policy.
After weeks of deliberation, Bush
announced in August that he would only permit the research on those stem
cell lines that he said already existed. Critics said they believed Bush
had overstated the number of those lines and said many of them would prove
unsuitable for use by scientists.
Embryonic stem cells develop into
the body's various organs. Researchers hope to learn to use them to create
healthy cells that can heal ailing hearts, livers and other organs.
Federal law bans the use of tax dollars
for research that destroys embryos - which is what removing stem cells
from embryos does.
The Clinton administration got around
this by saying that as long as private dollars paid for the extraction
of the stem cells, then federal money could be used for research on those
cells.
Meanwhile, House-Senate bargainers
signed off on the first compromise spending bill for fiscal 2002, which
began Oct. 1. Leaders hope to finish all 13 spending bills for this year
by late October or early November so Congress can go home for the year.
The $19.1 billion measure, which
finances the Interior Department and other smaller agencies, is $300 million
more than last year and $1 billion above Bush's request.
It provides increases over last year
for land conservation, energy programs and restoration of Florida's Everglades.
Senate Panel OKs Stem Cell Bill
By ALAN FRAM, Associated Press Writer