Legislative Updates

In recent months, the JSC has asked you to contact your Member of Congress on issues facing the biomedical research community. In responding to these requests you serve your profession by informing legislators about the importance of biomedical research in their district while also reminding them of the global economic impact of such research.

As you well know, America cannot sustain its scientific and economic leadership and improve its citizens health and well-being without increasing its investments in the scientific research supported by NIH and NSF. Nor can science advance if Congress continues to place roadblocks in the path of sound, ethical research.

Senate Vote on Stem Cell Research
In April, the JSC asked you to call your Senators, and asked for their support on the embryonic stem cell vote. On April 12, 2007, the Senate voted on two stem cell bills: S.5, the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act, a bill that would allow federally funded research using stem cells derived from excess IVF embryos, and S.30, Hope Offered Through Principal and Ethical Stem Cell Research, a Republican alternative bill that would limit federally funded research to research using embryonic stem cells from "naturally dead" embryos.

S.5 passed by a vote of 63–34. Three Senators, Chris Dodd (D-CT), Mary Landrieu (D-LA) and Tim Johnson (D-SD), support the bill but missed the vote. The Senate also passed S.30 by a vote of 70–28. Unfortunately, President Bush has vowed to veto S.5, stating "the Senate bill is very similar to legislation I vetoed last year." The President continued, "This bill crosses a moral line that I and many others find troubling. If it advances all the way through Congress to my desk, I will veto it."

All advocates of embryonic stem-cell research can agree that the administration's restrictions have slowed the development of treatments for those suffering from spinal-cord injuries, diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, and a range of other diseases. The current federal policy, in place since 2001, has not kept pace with the speed of scientific discovery and is today of limited value to the scientific community, a position endorsed by the Director of the National Institutes of Health, Elias Zerhouni, at a recent Senate appropriations hearing. According to Dr. Zerhouni, "It's not possible for me to see how we can continue the momentum of science and research with the stem cell lines we have at NIH. ...From my standpoint as NIH director, it is in the best interests of our scientists, our science, and our country that we find ways and the nation finds a way to go full-speed across adult and embryonic stem cells equally."

To see how your Senator voted

The Markey-Shays Dear Colleague Letter
Also in April, we asked you to contact your Representative and ask him or her to sign the Congressional Dear Colleague letter circulated by Representatives Markey (D-MA) and Shays (R-CT) (The Markey-Shays letter).

The Markey-Shays letter was sent to House Appropriations Chairman David Obey (D-WI) and Ranking Member Jerry Lewis (R-CA) on April 27, 2007. The letter asked the committee to increase funding for the NIH by 6.7%. Because of your actions, the letter had the bipartisan support of 182 Members of Congress. To see if your Member took positive action to support increased funding for the NIH, listed below is the full list of Members who signed the Markey-Shays Dear Colleague letter.