Tyler Owens

US Congress

Professor Pitney

Second Essay

3/7/07

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

           

On February 15, 2005 Representative Michael Castle (R-DE) introduced H.R. 810, the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2005. The CRS Summary says the bill’s purpose was “to amend the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to conduct and support research that utilizes human embryonic stem cells, regardless of the date on which the stem cells were derived from a human embryo, provided such embryos”[1] meet certain requirements. The bill passed the House and Senate with strong margins, but President Bush vetoed it, and the House could not generate the 2/3 vote required to override the veto. This paper will explain how H.R. 810 passed both houses of Congress and why, despite strong Congressional and public support, it did not become law.

            Embryonic stem cells are highly valued tools of medical research because scientists can divide and transform them into more advanced and specialized cells. Since research using embryonic stem cells may lead to medical breakthroughs, many people are in favor of federally funded stem cell research.

On August 9, 2001 President Bush allowed federal funding for research on embryonic stem cell lines that existed as of that date. However, he banned federal dollars for research on all stem cell lines created from that point onward. Bush opposes continued federal funding for research because he believes embryos represent human life. He has said that manipulating embryos for scientific research is a violation of a “moral boundary.”[2] Bush believes his policy represents a balance between scientific research and ethical limits.

The debate over taxpayer-funded stem cell research pits influential religious conservative groups against liberal groups and scientific research interest organizations. Conservative Christian organizations and pro-life, anti-abortion interest groups, such as the National Right to Life Committee, Focus on the Family, and the American Life League, support Bush’s ban on taxpayer-funded stem cell science. 

Pro-choice organizations, such as NARAL Pro-Choice America, and National Institutes of Health interest groups support enhanced federal funding. Medical research organizations that specialize in finding cures to Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, heart disease, and diabetes also support taxpayer-funded stem cell research. There is a constituency of tens of millions of Americans that stand to benefit from medical advancements derived from embryonic stem cell research. The Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research, which identifies itself as an alliance of “nearly 100 nationally recognized patient organizations, universities, scientific societies and foundations,”[3] helps members of Congress to understand the issues involved with stem cell research. Advanced Cell Technology, a leading biotech firm that specializes in and stands to profit from stem cell research, pressed for Congress to pass H.R. 810.[4]

Groups that support Bush’s restrictions on funding malign embryonic stem cell research as an embryo-killing activity. They view the embryo as an innocent human being and think it is always morally wrong to kill an embryo even if it can lead to medical breakthroughs. Groups that oppose Bush’s restrictions believe increased funding will lead to scientific progress. The National Institutes of Health estimates that there are 400 stem cell lines available worldwide, but Bush’s restrictions constrain federal funding to only 21 of those lines, most of which are likely contaminated.[5] Robert Lanza, the Vice President of Research and Scientific Development at Advanced Cell Technology, testified, “The field of stem cell research has been crippled by the lack of quality stem cell lines.”[6]

H.R. 810 would have lifted Bush’s funding ban and required the federal government to fund embryonic stem cell research. With 200 cosponsors from both sides of the aisle, the bill had broad bipartisan support and a great deal of momentum. An ABC News/Washington Post Poll taken in early 2005 reported that 63% of Americans support embryonic stem cell research.[7]

Senators Arlen Specter (R-PA) and Tom Harkin (D-IA) introduced S. 723 during the 107^th Congress to provide for “research on human embryos for the purpose of generating embryonic stem cells,”[8] remarks the CRS Summary. Despite strong bipartisan cosponsorship, the bill stalled in the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee. S. 723’s companion bill in the House, H.R. 2059, introduced by Jim McDermott, stalled in the Subcommittee on Health within the Energy and Commerce Committee.[9]

After introduction in February of 2005, H.R. 810 was referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. The chairman of the committee at the time, Joe Barton, had an anti-abortion voting record of 100% but supported the bill because his father had diabetes and his brother had liver cancer.[10] There were no committee markups or hearings because eight GOP moderates, using budget votes as leverage, persuaded the leadership to bring the bill directly to the floor.[11] Roll Call reports that the GOP whip organization did not actively fight the bill, and the Rules Committee gave it a “clean vote—one not threatened by killer amendments.”[12]

The House passed H.R. 810 on May 24, 2005 by a yea-nay vote of 238-194 with two abstaining.[13] 187 Democrats, or roughly 93%, and 50 Republicans, or 22%, voted for it, as well as one Independent.[14] 180 Republicans and 14 Democrats voted against it. The House Tuesday Group and Republican Main Street Partnership were instrumental in getting 50 Republicans to side with the Democrats. A bloc of 89 Republicans from the South formed the largest regional opposition to the bill. Upon passage, the Bush administration released a Statement of Administration Policy, which stated the bill “would require Federal taxpayer dollars to be used to encourage the ongoing destruction of nascent human life.”[15] Bush vowed to veto it.

Most of the 50 Republicans who disregarded their leadership and President Bush did so because of first-hand experience with the illnesses and diseases to which stem cell research may find cures.[16] The Washington Post explains, “Debate on the bill was particularly rancorous and personal, with some lawmakers telling stories of their own or family members’ suffering from diseases that could potentially be cured as the result of the research.”[17]

After the House passed H.R. 810, the Senate Majority Leader at the time, Bill Frist (R-TN), put the bill on the Senate Legislative Calendar to delay action because of an agreement with President Bush. In July 2005, Frist reneged on his agreement and allowed the Senate to consider the bill, but the bill reached the floor nearly a year later. Frist faced difficulty in getting an up-or-down vote on the bill but was ultimately able to do so after agreeing to consider two other bills “which were intended to provide political cover for senators opposed to embryonic stem cell research,”[18] reports CQ Weekly.

Staunch conservative Senators Rick Santorum (R-PA), Richard Burr (R-NC), Sam Brownback (R-KS), and Jeff Sessions (R-AL) were at the heart of the opposition because of their personal ideology and religious conservative constituencies. Santorum introduced two bills that provided the cover for opponents of H.R. 810. S. 2754 encouraged scientists to use alternative methods that do not knowingly harm embryos. S. 3504 banned embryos from pregnancies intended for stem cell lines and fetal farms, the facilities that could create embryos solely for science.[19] Senators Burr, Brownback, and Sessions were among the cosponsors of the bills. One of the biggest champions in the Senate for H.R. 810 was Tom Harkin (D-IA), who continues to advocate against Bush’s funding restrictions.

Frist designed a strategy to consider all three bills, with no amendments allowed, and each bill would require a 60-vote supermajority. Proponents of H.R. 810 supported this strategy because they feared other Senators might fill the amendment tree and effectively kill the bill. The Senate passed S. 2754 and S. 3504, each with votes of 100-0.[20] The Senate agreed by unanimous consent to consider H.R. 810 and passed it on July 18, 2006 by a yea-nay vote of 63-37. The bill was four votes shy of the 2/3 majority required to override a presidential veto. 43 Democrats, or roughly 98%, 19 Republicans, or 35%, and one Independent voted for it.[21] 36 Republicans and one Democrat voted against it.

Ben Nelson from Nebraska was the only Democratic Senator to vote against the bill. Nelson “bucks the party line regularly,”[22] reports Politics in America. Nebraska is also a Republican stronghold that gave 66% of its popular vote to Bush in the 2004 presidential election.[23] The majority of Nebraskans have a defined conservative bent.[24]

Despite most pro-life interest organizations opposed to the bill, many pro-life Senators voted for it. Frist is pro-life, yet as a heart surgeon he recognized the value of embryonic stem cell research and voted for the bill. CQ Weekly reports, “anti-abortion lawmakers such as Republicans Gordon Smith and Orrin G. Hatch of Utah were leading proponents of the bill.”[25]

President Bush issued a veto message on July 19, 2006. He said, “If this bill were to become law, American taxpayers for the first time in our history would be compelled to fund the deliberate destruction of human embryos.”[26] It was Bush’s first and, so far, only veto of his presidency. On the same day, the House sustained the veto by a vote of 235-193, 51 votes shy of the 2/3 majority required to override Bush’s veto.[27]

 

Works Cited