Chris Murphy: “Before we send this back over to Mr. Altmire, Mr. Meek, let's talk about an issue on which I think this Congress is…”

“Before we send this back over to Mr. Altmire, Mr. Meek, let's talk about an issue on which I think this Congress is going to stand together tomorrow, Republicans and Democrats, and stand against the policies of a President who is going to show once again how out of step he is with the American public, and that is on the issue of stem cell research. Mr. Speaker, I had the opportunity when I was in the Connecticut State Senate to author Connecticut's Stem Cell Investment Act. Connecticut became the first State in the Nation through a legislative act to invest public dollars in stem cell research. I am real proud of that. But part of the reason that I decided to leave the State Senate and come here to the United States Congress is because it was a bittersweet victory for us. We shouldn't have 50 different State legislatures investing in basic scientific research; certainly not the type of potentially pioneering, life-saving scientific research that stem cell research, both adult and embryonic, holds in its vast and potentially limitless potential. So, tomorrow, we are going to take up a bill that we took up at the beginning of January, now coming back to us from the Senate, which is the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2007, which is once again going to allow for Federal dollars to be used for both embryonic and adult stem cell research around this country, and, by the way, finally put some real ethical and moral and scientific boundaries around that research.”