[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 414 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 414

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives supporting Federal 
funding directed toward human pluripotent stem cell research to further 
    research into Parkinson's disease and other medical conditions.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 2, 2000

 Mrs. Maloney of New York (for herself and Mrs. Morella) submitted the 
 following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives supporting Federal 
funding directed toward human pluripotent stem cell research to further 
    research into Parkinson's disease and other medical conditions.

Whereas Parkinson's disease is a relentlessly progressive degenerative disease 
        which kills a specialized and vital type of brain cell, a brain cell 
        which produces a substance, dopamine, that is essential for normal 
        movement and balance;
Whereas the loss of these dopamine-producing cells causes symptoms, including 
        slowness and paucity of movement, tremor, stiffness, and difficulty 
        walking and balancing, rendering the afflicted person incapable of 
        carrying out the normal activities of daily living;
Whereas in 30 percent of Parkinson's disease patients, a dementia occurs that is 
        similar to Alzheimer's disease;
Whereas Parkinson's disease worsens over time, inflicting a horrific physical, 
        emotional, and financial burden on the patient and family, requiring a 
        caregiver to assist in the activities of daily living, and may 
        eventually lead to placement in a nursing home until death;
Whereas Parkinson's disease affects one million Americans--one percent of the 
        population over age 60 and two percent of the population over age 70;
Whereas 50,000 Americans are diagnosed with Parkinson's disease each year--six 
        Americans per hour;
Whereas for each American with Parkinson's disease who is diagnosed, there are 
        two who have Parkinson's disease but are not diagnosed--two million 
        Americans with Parkinson's disease who are undiagnosed--two percent of 
        the population over age 60 and four percent of the population over age 
        70;
Whereas Parkinson's disease costs the Federal Government approximately $10 
        billion each year in medicare, medicaid, hospital, and nursing home 
        outlays;
Whereas on average, medications, doctor visits, physical therapy, and hospital 
        stays cost each patient $5,000 per year;
Whereas as a society, we spend $15 billion a year on Parkinson's disease--
        without considering the indirect costs of lost income, missed 
        opportunities, and family disruptions;
Whereas those $15 billion result in treatments that bring only temporary 
        relief--allowing patients to live longer only to develop the more 
        disabling and untreatable Alzheimer's-like dementia;
Whereas the ability to generate specialized cells, such as the dopamine-
        producing cells that are lost in Parkinson's disease, will allow us to 
        learn how to generate the specialized cells that are lost in other 
        crippling, devastating, and heretofore untreatable conditions of the 
        nervous system, such as Alzheimer's disease, brain injury, birth 
        defects, spinal cord injury, stroke, muscular dystrophy, and Lou 
        Gehrig's disease;
Whereas the ability to generate specialized cells that are lost in diseases of 
        the nervous system will also allow us to learn how to generate the 
        specialized cells that are lost in such devastating disorders as heart 
        disease, lung disease, kidney disease, liver disease, diabetes, AIDS, 
        sickle-cell anemia, and arthritis;
Whereas this research will be carried out with human pluripotent stem cells, 
        primitive cells that are the forerunners of the specialized cells that 
        are lost in many of the currently incurable diseases;
Whereas stem cells, unlike the specialized cells they replace, can be refitted, 
        reprogrammed, and rearranged to reproduce lost function;
Whereas human pluripotent stem cell research may solve the problem of graft 
        rejection (that is, the body's reaction against foreign tissue), 
        resulting in dramatic improvements in the treatment of a number of life-
        threatening conditions, such as burns and kidney failure, for which 
        transplantation is currently used;
Whereas human pluripotent stem cell research may provide safer and more 
        effective ways to test drugs without experimenting on humans or animals;
Whereas Federal funds are crucial to allow scientists to proceed with stem cell 
        research and to exploit fully this novel, innovative, and ground-
        breaking technology; and
Whereas according to the Department of Health and Human Services, research 
        utilizing human pluripotent stem cells does not violate the ban on 
        Federal funding of human embryo research in section 511 of the 
        Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and 
        Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999 (as contained in section 
        101(f) of division A of Public Law 105-277) (112 Stat. 2681-386), 
        because such stem cells are not embryos: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives supports Federal 
funding directed toward human pluripotent stem cell research to further 
research into Parkinson's disease and other medical conditions.
                                 <all>