Stem-Cell Bill Passes Senate; Override of Expected Veto Unlikely [WSJ]
A WSJ Reader Poll: 'Should the U.S. expand federal funding of embryonic stem-cell research?'
votes: Yes 78% to 22% No
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By SARAH LUECK
July 19, 2006; Page A8
WASHINGTON -- The Senate voted to ease limits on federal funding for embryonic stem-cell research, setting the stage for President Bush to exercise the first veto of his presidency, perhaps as soon as today.
Nineteen Republicans joined 43 Democrats and one Independent in the 63-37 roll call to support a bill by Sen. Arlen Specter (R., Pa.) allowing federal funds to be used in studies of stem cells derived from embryos created for in-vitro fertilization that are slated for destruction. The Senate voted unanimously for two other bills: One bans "fetal farming," the use by scientists of tissue from fetuses developed for research, and the other encourages stem-cell studies that don't harm embryos.
The Senate vote on the Specter bill, a version of which the House passed last year, fell short of the two-thirds that would be needed to override Mr. Bush's veto. Overriding the veto is even more unlikely in the House. Republican leaders there were planning to vote tonight to sustain Mr. Bush's expected veto and dispense with the issue.
Last night, the House took up the two bills the Senate passed unanimously, in the hopes of giving Mr. Bush legislation to sign at the same time he vetoes the funding expansion. As in the Senate, House lawmakers approved the fetal-farming ban unanimously, but the bill promoting research that doesn't harm embryos failed to get the two-thirds support needed under House rules. Democratic opposition was a major reason, but 15 Republicans also opposed the measure, including Rep. Mike Castle (R., Del.), a sponsor of the House version of the Specter bill. The alternative, he said, "is a distraction for our researchers and it is a delay to cures." Republican leaders were considering resurrecting the bill.
The unusually quick action on stem cells is an attempt to minimize political fallout from an issue that divides Republicans and that Democrats already are using on the campaign trail.
Despite the near assurance of the outcome, the Senate spent two days in an impassioned debate that pits many scientists and patient advocates who favor expanded research against antiabortion groups who say deriving stem cells from embryos devalues human life. Among the high-profile people pushing Congress and Mr. Bush to expand stem-cell research: actors Mary Tyler Moore and Michael J. Fox, former First Lady Nancy Reagan and a group of Nobel laureates. "It's a clear-cut question to use embryos to save lives because otherwise they will be destroyed," said Mr. Specter.
On the other side, embryonic stem-cell research opponent Sen. Sam Brownback (R., Kan.) escorted mothers with "snowflake babies" -- a term used for children who were adopted as frozen embryos -- around the Capitol. "These guys are not raw material. They are real people," Mr. Brownback said.
The bill promoting stem-cell research that doesn't harm embryos was seen as "meaningless" by Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada. But it gave senators who opposed expanded funding for embryonic research a chance to cast a pro-research vote. Sens. Rick Santorum (R., Penn.), Mike DeWine (R., Ohio), Jim Talent (R., Mo.) and Conrad Burns (R., Mont.) -- all in tough re-election races -- voted against the measure Mr. Bush is likely to veto but for the bill promoting research that doesn't harm embryos.
Republicans who voted to expand embryonic stem-cell research included Sens. Robert Bennett of Utah, Richard Burr of North Carolina, Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, Trent Lott of Mississippi and Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas.
The White House has said Mr. Bush will veto the legislation, which would relax limits he placed on the research in 2001 out of concern that federal support encourages the destruction of embryos.
Democrats yesterday warned Mr. Bush not to veto the bill. "If he vetoes this, he's jerking the rug out from under people who are desperate for help," Mr. Reid said.
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