Dusty Johnson: “today I speak in support of legislation this Chamber has been waiting to consider for more than a year. I am pleased…”

“today I speak in support of legislation this Chamber has been waiting to consider for more than a year. I am pleased that wait is finally over. I encourage my colleagues to join me in voting to give hope to millions of Americans living with diseases for which embryonic stem cell research offers their only real hope of a cure. These patients are often desperate and have been waiting for their Congress to take action for nearly 5 years, since August 9, 2001, when the President defied common sense and stifled the promise and the hope offered by stem cell research. This essential legislation has already passed the House of Representatives by an overwhelmingly large bipartisan majority. Today, I want to briefly share my thoughts on why the current policy on stem cell research is unsustainable and woefully inadequate, clarify some misconceptions about the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act, and share the stories of some South Dakotans who will enormously benefit from the passage of this bill. Current law allows federally funded research on only those stem cells derived as of August 9, 2001. At the time, there were more than 65 stem cell lines available worldwide. While this number represented marvelous progress from the first derivation of an embryonic stem cell in 1998, we know now that it was just the tip of the iceberg of possibility.…”