Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: American Spirit who wrote (165787)	7/29/2001 10:50:35 PM
From: puborectalis	Respond to of 769667

WIRE: 07/29/2001 4:49 pm ET Bush Said to Need 'Solid Evidence' on Stem Cells WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A leading Republican congressman on Sunday suggested President Bush may be able to drop his opposition to embryonic stem cell research without dire political consequences. "I think what the American people want him to do is to look at this issue, reason it through and come up with good, solid evidence for the decision he's made. I think that's what they expect of him and they should expect no less," said Congressman Dennis Hastert, speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. Bush faces a difficult political decision on whether to allow federal funding for embryonic stem-cell research. During last year's presidential campaign and as recently as last May, he asserted his strong opposition to research "that involves destroying living human embryos." But as he approaches an actual decision, Bush, pressured by all sides in what has become an extremely emotional debate, is said to be uncertain about which way he will go. "I think the president is struggling with this issue. ... I think he's trying to find the right answer," Hastert told NBC Television's "Meet the Press." Even Hastert left open the possibility he could change his mind on the issue. "I personally am pro-life. I think taking embryos, which is taking and killing those embryos, certainly doesn't go along with that sanctity-of-life issue that I think is important," the congressman said. "I don't think at this point there ought to be federal funding," he said, but added: "I want to look at all the debate before I make solid that decision." In Italy last week, Pope John Paul II lectured Bush on the dangers of stem cell research. The president's decision could affect his standing with Roman Catholic voters, who are considered a swing group in U.S. politics. Hastert stressed the need to look at alternatives, such as research on adult human stem cells. But actor Christopher Reeve, paralyzed several years ago when he was thrown from his horse, said this would be a "big mistake because you could spend the next five years on adult stem cells and find out they are not capable of doing what we already know embryonic stem cells are capable of doing now." Meanwhile, "a lot of people are going to die during that time," Reeve said on CNN's "Late Edition." Proponents say embryonic stem cells, taken from frozen embryos slated for destruction, offer hope for treatment of such ailments as Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and spinal chord injuries. Opponents, notably the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, maintain that this research destroys human life and should not be paid for with federal dollars.

To: American Spirit who wrote (165787)	7/30/2001 4:45:11 AM
From: ColtonGang	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769667

"Republican concern about the party's image on the environment -- an area touched by many of the Clinton regulations on the GOP list. Mindful of opinion polls that suggest voters believe the Republicans are placing business interests ahead of the environment, GOP moderates in the House have grown wary of creating the appearance that they are unduly helping corporations at the public's expense, especially as they head into next year's mid-term elections''.

To: American Spirit who wrote (165787)	7/30/2001 4:49:31 AM
From: ColtonGang	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 769667

July 30, 2001 Bush Aide Backs Off on Timetable for Climate Plan By ELIZABETH SHOGREN, Times Staff Writer WASHINGTON -- National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, batting down expectations raised by Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, said Sunday that the Bush administration has not set a deadline for completing its policy for combating global warming. Ten days ago in Europe, Powell assured foreign nations that the United States would have a plan developed in time for an October global warming conference in Marrakech, Morocco. "I don't think we want to set a deadline of a specific meeting," Rice said on CNN's "Late Edition." "But there's no doubt that the United States is working very hard on this problem." The contradiction highlights emerging division within the White House about how to counter the international Kyoto, Japan, accord regulating global warming, which President Bush has refused to sign. Richard Haass, director of policy planning for the State Department, explained that formulating a policy has been difficult because "differences have been so pronounced" within the administration. "The people around the table . . . don't agree," Haass said Friday at the Nixon Center, a Washington think tank. Despite the divergence of views, Haass said he hoped that "sooner rather than later" a decision would be made by the administration, which appears to be under increasing pressure from Congress, foreign nations and the public to do so. In Bonn on July 23, the United States sat on the sidelines while 178 countries agreed on rules for implementing the Kyoto Protocol, which set a goal of cutting emissions of heat-trapping "greenhouse gases" by an average of 5.2% from 1990 levels by 2012. The Bonn agreement specifies emission reductions for each participating nation, but the overall goal will be much more difficult without the participation of the United States, the world's biggest generator of such gases. The administration has been roundly criticized by allies around the world and by many congressional leaders at home for rejecting the international accord without offering an alternative. Rice's statement follows a similar suggestion by Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Christie Whitman to the Washington Post that the U.S. plans to continue to do its "own thing." Although Bush has stressed that he considers the problem of global warming to be very important, he has so far offered only to study the issue and develop technologies to cut greenhouse gases here and in developing countries. A Cabinet-level group has been busy since spring trying to assess the challenge and formulate an effective response. At least before they joined the administration, some Cabinet members, including Whitman and Treasury Secretary Paul H. O'Neill, favored aggressively regulating emissions of carbon dioxide, which are considered the major man-made contribution to global climate change. But others in the administration put a priority on increasing production of energy from fossil fuels, including coal. This contingent seemed to have won out when Bush in March reversed a campaign promise to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from power plants. A number of proposals to reduce carbon dioxide emissions have at least some bipartisan support in Congress, and the Senate seems especially geared to move forward. Even Republicans are sending very public messages to the administration. "The fact of the matter is, we need to deal with the carbon issue, substantively or politically," Sen. George Voinovich (R-Ohio) told Whitman during a hearing Thursday. "I would suggest that somebody really start brainstorming on it." Rice's comments do not represent the first time that Powell's assertions concerning global warming policy have been overtaken. Earlier this year, Powell asked the head of the international Kyoto process to postpone the Bonn meeting for two months so that the United States could develop an alternative policy. The meeting was delayed, but the Bush team came to Bonn empty- handed. Powell said the delay was because global warming "is a terribly complex issue, and we are putting our best minds to work on it. We want to come up with something that will garner support and will be seen as a very clear response to this problem, which exists and which we all know exists, called global warming." He stressed that the United States would produce a plan, "but we really are now looking toward [Morocco] for the tabling of specific proposals that could be seen as an alternative to the provisions of the Kyoto Protocol." Environmentalists were disappointed Sunday to hear Rice step back from Powell's commitment. "It suggests that the administration continues to waffle on global warming policy," said Lloyd Ritter of the Union of Concerned Scientists. "If the administration were truly serious about the problem, [it] would commit to meaningful alternative policies."