Issue Position: The Potential of Stem Cell Research
Issue Position
Throughout my time in Congress I am proud to have become the leading voice for ethical embryonic stem cell (ESC) research. This critical safe-living research holds the promise of cures and treatments for millions of Americans suffering from debilitating diseases, and the potential for an entire new bioscience industry for our nation.
I have twice passed bipartisan bills expanding federal funding for ESC research, both of which were vetoed by President George W. Bush, including the first veto of his presidency in 2006.
I have now reintroduced Stem Cell legislation in the 113th Congress alongside my Republican Co-sponsor Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania, and we will continue to work with our bipartisan team of ESC supporters to ensure the breakthroughs of ESC research -- and the jobs they create -- happen right here in the United States. Click here to learn more about the legislation.
FINDING CURES
In Jan. 2009 President Barack Obama used the framework of my legislation to issue an Executive Order overturning the Bush ban on federally funded ESC research. While I was ecstatic our scientists would have the opportunity to kick-start their research after eight years of uncertainty, I remain committed to making federal funding for ethical ESC research the law of the land.
Ethical ESC research has the potential to unlock cures and treatments for countless diseases including Parkinsons and Alzheimers. This research also enjoys broad support from the American public -- in one recent poll 62% of those surveyed indicated they found ethical ESC research morally acceptable. Click here to read a Denver Post editorial in support of my legislation.
SPARKING INNOVATION
Across the world ESC research is yielding breakthrough after breakthrough, and beginning to create jobs and economic activity. As such, ethical ESC research is quickly becoming a leading global bioscience industry. For Colorado, jobs in biosciences have increased in the past few years, even as they declined elsewhere in the nation. That is why, for Colorado, the potential for jobs with ESC research is extraordinary, making it that much more critical we ensure we do not fall behind the rest of the global scientific community as they discover the cures sure to transform the 21st century.
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