[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 6 (Thursday, January 11, 2007)]
[House]
[Page H346]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             STEM CELL BILL

  (Mr. PITTS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, today the House will consider H.R. 3, an 
expansion of taxpayer funding for embryonic stem cell research. And 
while today's debate is sure to be full of rhetoric about the promise 
of future cures, let's be clear from the outset about what is working 
and what is not. Embryonic stem cell research, that is, research that 
requires the destruction of a living human embryo, is yet to produce a 
single cure or treatment in humans. Not one. What many say is a false 
hope.
  The good news is that there is an alternative that is not only 
successfully treating human patients but doesn't require killing little 
human embryos. In fact, what many consider ethical, adult stem cell 
research has now provided dozens of laboratory successes, successful 
treatments of human patients and even a handful of FDA-approved 
therapies.
  Mr. Speaker, tax dollars are not unlimited. They should be directed 
towards methods that are proven to work and ethical research. H.R. 3 
fails to do this.

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