US Congress may debate new stem cell legislation in new year

In the US, the Democrats have indicated that they will push for a vote on stem cell legislation which would permit the allocation of federal funding for research, previously vetoed by President Bush.

Senate Majority Leader-elect, Harry Reid, who will take control of the Senate's agenda when a new Congress resumes on the 4 January next year, has said that the Democrats will tackle ethics, the minimum wage, and stem cell research, after first cleaning up the 'financial mess' left behind by the Republicans. House Speaker-in-waiting, Nancy Pelosi, has already pledged to tackle the issue of federal funding for stem cell research in her first hundred hours of leadership.

The Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act was debated by Congress last July, when the House of Representatives voted 235-193 in favour and the Senate voted 63-37 in favour of the legislation that would have extended federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. Despite the overwhelming majority in Congress, the votes did not reach the two-thirds majority required to overturn President Bush's decision to veto the legislation.

Following the recent mid-term elections, the Democrats achieved a majority in both the House and the Senate and it is hoped that the two-thirds majority in the Senate may now be reached. 'The election did show that there's a mandate to expand embryonic stem cell research,' said Republican Diana De Gette, 'The main thing that has changed is that public awareness has increased so much'. The public realises the potential benefits, and what that does is put tremendous pressure on the White House'. President Bush opposes embryonic stem cell research on the grounds that human life is destroyed in the process. White House spokesman, Tony Fratto, has said that the President's position on the issue stands firm but he would not 'issue veto threats on hypothetical legislation'. However, if the proposed legislation is reintroduced and again passed by Congress, the President may be under pressure from the perceived increasing US public support for embryonic research to forgo his veto.

Reid has indicated, however, that the Senate is not yet in a position where gaining a two-thirds majority to override a Presidential veto will be likely but that he hopes that some Republicans will be persuaded to switch sides.