Spotlight

President Obama Releases 2013 Budget Proposal

President Obama has remained steadfastly supportive of a strong federally backed scientific research enterprise. Even in austere times President Obama has strived to make scientific research a priority in his budgets. Yet, with the unveiling of his FY13 budget proposal on
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FY12 Spending Debate Comes to a Close

Congress completed, and the President signed into law, the FY12 appropriations bill. The $915 billion spending bill wraps up the remaining nine appropriations measures. The bill provides funding for programs at the Department of Health and Human Services, including the National
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The Coalition for the Life Sciences Applauds Recent Court Decision on Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research

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The Coalition for the Life Sciences (CLS) applauds the decision of Judge Royce Lamberth of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the National Institutes of Health guidelines funding human embryonic stem cell research (hESC).

Judge Lamberth agreed with the appeals court’s finding that NIH can interpret the Dickey-Wicker amendment to allow funding for research on human embryonic stem cells but not on their derivation. He notes that the legislation’s definition of “research” is ambiguous. The judge also dismissed the plaintiffs’ claims that NIH failed to respond to relevant and significant public comments. The plaintiffs have 60 days in which to file for appeal to the DC Circuit Court.

The CLS is actively engaged in advocating for federal funding for hESC research—free of political or ideological restrictions. The CLS will continue to do so as long as this promising research is called into question.