[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 116 (Thursday, September 23, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9605-S9606]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                           STEM CELL RESEARCH

  Mr. LEVIN. Madam President, I would like to discuss the issue of 
federally funded stem cell research. On August 9, 2001, President Bush 
outlined the policy of his administration regarding federally funded 
research using only existing stem cell lines. He indicated that he felt 
this would allow for Federal research dollars to be used on about 60 
lines of stem cells. In actuality, over 3 years later, there are 
indications that Federal research has been done on only as many as 24 
lines and as few as 5.
  Yet, the administration continues to state this policy is 
appropriate. As recently as Monday, President Bush stated on a campaign 
stop in Derry, NH, that his stem cell policy ``balanced good science 
with good ethics.'' I disagree. We must use modern medical technology 
to its fullest capability to use stem cells to develop cures for 
debilitating diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, diabetes, 
cancer and ALS, commonly referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease. The 
Federal Government should not restrict our policy to only existing stem 
cells but expand the policy to include newly discovered stem cell lines 
as well as unused cells that would otherwise be discarded from in vitro 
clinics. This is the position of the majority of the American people 
and it is the position of former First Lady Nancy Reagan.
  On a personal note, a dear friend of mine, William Kooistra, of Grand 
Rapids, MI, was recently diagnosed with ALS. Bill Kooistra founded 
Project in Rehabilitation in 1968, seeing the need for the medical 
community to become involved in treating the problems of drug 
addiction. Project Rehab is now one of the largest and longest running 
substance abuse programs in my home State. There is hope that stem cell 
research can one day cure diseases such as ALS. Although that cure may 
come too late for my friend Bill, I hope and I know that he hopes that 
a cure can be found one day so that the generations to come won't have 
to worry that they are genetically predisposed to contract ALS. I ask 
unanimous consent a September 12, 2004, letter from Bill Kooistra to 
the Grand Rapids Press on this subject be printed in the Record.

[[Page S9606]]

  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                     [From the Grand Rapids Press]

               Bush Too Restrictive on Stem-Cell Research

       Historian Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., recently wrote that 
     President Harry Truman's famous sign--The Buck Stops Here--
     ``tells only half the story. Citizens cannot escape the 
     ultimate responsibility. It is in the voting booth, not on 
     the presidential desk, that the buck finally stops.''
       Hopefully, all American voters will look at all the issues 
     before casting their personal directive for good government.
       One issue is new on the American political scene: the issue 
     of how best to direct the use of embryonic stem cell 
     research.
       The science of healing was politicized by President George 
     W. Bush in August, 2001, when he placed severe restrictive 
     limits on embryonic stem cell research.
       As a Christian, I believe that all disease is part of God's 
     long-range plan. I also believe that all remedies and cures 
     for disease are God-given and medical science is the means by 
     which these remedies are achieved. Effective medical science 
     cannot be restricted.
       Within realistic financial boundaries, medical science must 
     be free to explore all avenues, including dead-end routes, in 
     order to achieve its miracles.
       It is also important to recognize that the elderly person 
     who currently has the disease is not the only beneficiary of 
     medical research, but also that the person's children and 
     grandchildren who have the genetic predisposition for that 
     disease will benefit.
       As an individual recently diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig's 
     disease), I have no clue as to whether embryonic stem cell 
     research could provide a ``medical miracle'' for me or my 
     descendants, but I resent it when a politician blocks God's 
     plan for a medical remedy.
       Fortunately, Bush's unwise decision can be overcome on Nov. 
     2 because his opponent, John Kerry, supports the unfettered 
     use of embryonic stem cell research.
       Obviously, humane guidelines will have to be established to 
     lead this scientific quest, but the current political limits 
     to find God-ordained remedies and cures to disease are 
     totally unacceptable.
                                              William H. Kooistra,
     East Grand Rapids.

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