New embryonic stem cell research funding in doubt

Bush promises to veto one Senate-passed measure to provide federal funding for new embryonic stem cell lines but says he supports a more limited bill.

By Doug Trapp, AMNews staff. May 7, 2007.

Washington -- Legislation to allow federal funding of research on new embryonic stem cell lines fell short of the votes needed to override a threatened presidential veto, but the measure's supporters aren't giving up.

On April 11 the Senate passed the bipartisan Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2007 with 63 votes -- four short of the 67 needed to override a veto. But three senators who would have voted for the bill were absent, aides said. This means the legislation is potentially just one vote short of a veto-proof margin. The House on Jan. 11 approved a similar bipartisan bill 253-174, leaving it 37 votes short of the 290 required for an override.

Lawmakers supporting the legislation planned to meet in late April or early May to map out their next step, said Brandon MacGillis, spokesman for Rep. Diana DeGette (D, Colo.), sponsor of the House bill.

Both versions would allow federal funding for deriving new lines of stem cells from embryos, which many researchers argue is the most obvious, proven path for researching regenerative medicine.

But an Aug. 9, 2001, executive order by President Bush forbade federal funding for this research except on cell lines developed before that date, from embryos that were created for reproductive purposes but that would have been discarded. The rules stipulate that the embryos must have been donated without compensation.

The House and Senate bills would rescind the 2001 cutoff but maintain the other provisions of the Bush order. Still, the president said he would veto the measure as he did a similar bill last year -- the only veto of his presidency so far.