Tom Harkin: “here we are on day 2 of Health Week, and there are still no plans to bring up H.R. 810, the stem cell research bill.…”

“here we are on day 2 of Health Week, and there are still no plans to bring up H.R. 810, the stem cell research bill. This bill was passed by the House of Representatives 351 days ago-- almost a year ago now--with still no action here in the Senate. Yet the majority of Senators are for it. I do not understand how in the world we can have a Health Week in the Senate and not vote on the American public's No. 1 health research priority: lifting the President's restriction on embryonic stem cell research. That seems to be what we are doing. We are wasting our time on bills that everyone knows are not going to pass. We are passing up a golden opportunity to promote one of the most promising areas of research in our lifetimes. Most people by now have heard of the enormous potential of embryonic stem cells. These cells have the remarkable ability to turn into every other type of cell in the human body--brain cells that could replace those lost in Parkinson's disease, islet cells to replace those lost in type 1 diabetes, and on and on. Adult stem cells don't have that power, only embryonic stem cells. That is why the world's best scientists think embryonic stem cell research has so much promise to save lives and ease human suffering. It is also why they are so frustrated by the President's arbitrary restrictions on stem cell research.…”