Tom Harkin: “I want to compliment my distinguished ranking member, Senator Specter, for working out an agreement on the vital issue…”

“I want to compliment my distinguished ranking member, Senator Specter, for working out an agreement on the vital issue of stem cell research. I believe the agreement Senator Specter has worked out is one that will serve us well. We will have hearings. We will welcome all to come in and testify at these hearings on stem cells. I understand the agreement is that prior to the end of March, sometime in either February or March of next year, both the majority leader and minority leader have agreed that we will bring a stem cell research bill to the floor of the Senate. With that agreement, I think it paves the way for us to have some more in-depth hearings on whether or not we have enough stem cell lines to do the kind of research that needs to be done, or whether we do, in fact, need some more stem cell lines to conduct this kind of robust research. We will continue to have those hearings throughout the next few months. Even though the Senate may not be in session, we will continue to have those hearings to try to get a better understanding of what we need to do to provide the ethical guidelines and the kind of monetary support that we need for our science to conduct embryonic stem cell research.”