[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2015 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2015

  To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for research with 
                 respect to human embryonic stem cells.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 31, 2000

Mr. Specter (for himself and Mr. Harkin) introduced the following bill; 
     which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, 
                     Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for research with 
                 respect to human embryonic stem cells.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Stem Cell Research Act of 2000''.

SEC. 2. RESEARCH ON HUMAN EMBRYONIC STEM CELLS.

    Part G of the Title IV of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 
288 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 498B the following:

``SEC. 498C. RESEARCH ON HUMAN EMBRYONIC STEM CELLS.

    ``(a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the 
Secretary may only conduct, support, or fund research on, or utilizing, 
human embryos for the purpose of generating embryonic stem cells in 
accordance with this section.
    ``(b) Sources of Embryonic Cells.--For purposes of carrying out 
research under paragraph (1), the human embryonic stem cells involved 
shall be derived only from embryos that otherwise would be discarded 
that have been donated from in-vitro fertilization clinics with the 
written informed consent of the progenitors.
    ``(c) Restrictions.--
            ``(1) In general.--The following restriction shall apply 
        with respect to human embryonic stem cell research conducted or 
        supported under subsection (a):
                    ``(A) The research involved shall not result in the 
                creation of human embryos.
                    ``(B) The research involved shall not result in the 
                reproductive cloning of a human being.
            ``(2) Prohibition.--
                    ``(A) In general.--It shall be unlawful for any 
                person receiving Federal funds to knowingly acquire, 
                receive, or otherwise transfer any human gametes or 
                human embryos for valuable consideration if the 
                acquisition, receipt, or transfer affects interstate 
                commerce.
                    ``(B) Definition.--In subparagraph (A), the term 
                `valuable consideration' does not include reasonable 
                payments associated with transportation, 
                transplantation, processing, preservation, quality 
                control, or storage.
    ``(d) Guidelines.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary, in conjunction with the 
        Director of the National Institutes of Health, shall issue 
        guidelines governing human embryonic stem cell research under 
        this section, including the definitions and terms used for 
        purposes of such research.
            ``(2) Requirements.--The guidelines issued under paragraph 
        (1) shall ensure that--
                    ``(A) all Federal research protocols and consent 
                forms involving human embryonic stem cell research must 
                be reviewed and approved by an institutional review 
                board; and
                    ``(B) the institutional review board is empowered 
                to make a determination as to whether or not the 
                proposed research is in accordance with National 
                Institutes of Health Guidelines for Research Involving 
                Human Pluripotent Stem Cells.
    ``(e) Reporting Requirements..--Not later than January 1, 2001, and 
each January 1 thereafter, the Secretary shall prepare and submit to 
the appropriate committees of Congress a report describing the 
activities carried out under this section during the preceding fiscal 
year, and including a description of whether and to what extent 
research under subsection (a) has been conducted in accordance with 
this section.''.
                                 <all>