Stem Cell Therapeutic and Reseach Act of 2005
STEM CELL THERAPEUTIC AND RESEARCH ACT OF 2005 -- (House of Representatives - December 17, 2005)
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Ms. DeGETTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague and friend from Georgia on the Energy and Commerce Committee for his leadership on issues like this.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of this legislation; however, I am concerned that the other body has chosen to send us only the cord blood bill today. This bill is essentially the same bill that the House passed last May by a vote of 431-1. The legislation is important, and it will help advance medical research which is why I support it and why we passed it by such an overwhelming majority last spring. What we need to be clear about, though, is what this bill really will and will not do; and we also need to be clear that this bill is not a substitute for embryonic stem cell research, the Castle-DeGette bill, H.R. 810, which is an important bill to advance scientific research to affect diseases that will potentially kill millions of Americans.
Like adult stem cells, umbilical cord stem cells have proven over the last decade or so to be a reliable source of blood-forming stem cells that are used as a technique to treat blood diseases like leukemia and lymphoma. That established technique has led to about 600 cord blood transplants which were performed in the United States in 2004 to treat blood disorders. But these cord blood cells are not regenerative and they are not reprogramming, which is why they cannot be used to be made into other types of stem cells that can cure other types of diseases besides blood-related diseases.
It is true that cord blood has been reliably used for a number of years, and that is why it is so important that we pass this cord blood registry. But we must not overstate or exaggerate the capabilities of cord stem cells. Significant limitations exists that must be considered.
Unlike human embryonic stem cells, stem cells from umbilical blood cord cannot continually reproduce themselves. Instead of proliferating, they quickly evolve into specialized cells. Umbilical cord stem cells cannot be induced to form diverse nonblood cell types, as I mentioned. Although some initial experiments appear to be promising, few stem cell researcher now believe that umbilical cords will be a reliable source of replacement cells other than blood cells.
Now, I support this very early research that I talked about, as I support any kind of research that could lead to stem cells that could cure diseases. But these studies are few, and they have not shown conclusive results.
Finally, umbilical cord stem cells are in short supply. Only a small number of cells can be obtained from each umbilical cord, making it hard to obtain enough stem cells for treatment.
Because of the limitations, we must also support embryonic stem cell research. I do not need to tell the House that, though, because we already did that with support from both sides of the aisle.
Last May, this House passed both the umbilical cord stem cell legislation along with H.R. 810, the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act. H.R. 810, cosponsored by myself and Congressman MIKE CASTLE, expands the number of embryonic stem cell lines that are eligible for federally funded research. The goal of the legislation is to accelerate scientific progress toward life-saving cures and treatments for a wide range of diseases, not just blood-related diseases.
Unfortunately, the other body has not yet embraced the wisdom of the people's House. Here is what has happened in our country because of our failure to federally fund embryonic stem cell research: As I think we can all agree, the National Institutes of Health is not only one of the foremost institutions, probably the foremost institution for medical research in the world, but it also stands as the gold standard in the world in defining ethical research. Because NIH is not able to fund embryonic stem cell research, it is limited in its ability to define the ethics for that research, certainly in this country but definitely abroad.
Many here have heard about the embryonic stem cell studies that have been done in South Korea, and frankly, Mr. Castle and I, the research community and others have warned for a long time that when you take embryonic stem cell research offshore, not only do you lose your ethical ability to oversee that research, but you also lose the ability to make sure that the studies are done in a scientifically sound manner. We saw what we hoped to be some tremendous advancements in South Korea last year, but now what we are seeing is news out of South Korea that the scientific method and also the ethics have been called into question.
If we allowed ethical stem cell research, looked over by the National Institutes of Health, in this country, this would not happen, and we would have advances in science fueled by the engine of the NIH but also overseen by their ethical guidelines.
That is why we need to pass H.R. 810. We need to make sure that we bring the ethics as well as the scientific method back under the umbrella of the NIH so that we can continue to be a leader in this research in the world.
Mr. Speaker, it is time for the other body of Congress to move forward on swift passage of H.R. 810 so that we can retain our leadership position in the world.
Again, I support the bill that is before us today. It is a very important registry for cord blood, and it is also important for expansion of cord blood for blood diseases that affect so many, including in the minority community, but we also need to move forward with H.R. 810 so that we can have scientific progress that is done in an ethical manner and that will cover the waterfront in curing diseases that will affect millions of Americans.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
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Ms. DeGETTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, today we are fortunate to take the first step of what I see as a two-step process, and that is passage of this cord blood bill which, as I said, we passed last May in this House by an overwhelming vote.
The second step, of course, will be when the other body passes H.R. 810, which also passed last May, and when that bill is finally signed into law.
The two bills working together will greatly expand availability of research and of cures for Americans who suffer not just from blood-related diseases but from diseases like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, nerve damage, and so many other diseases that cannot be reached simply by cord blood. That is the day that a true dawning of a new scientific era will occur in this country.
This is a good bill today, and I urge all of my colleagues to support it, and I want to thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for their co-sponsorship. But let us be clear exactly what this bill does. It authorizes a new granted program to provide subsidies to cord blood stem cell banks to expand the inventory of high quality cord blood units. It sets up a registry for cord blood, which will in some cases take the place of bone marrow transplants which it is beginning to supersede. This will be enormously important, particularly for sickle cell patients who will be helped. The bill also authorizes research on the clinical outcomes of patients who are recipients of a stem cell therapeutics product from biologically related and unrelated donors. That is what this bill does. This bill does not set up any cures for any diseases, nor does it do anything to put ethical controls onto stem cell research and other types of research that are scientifically being explored now and need the oversight of the National Institutes of Health.
So this is a good start. I commend all my colleagues. It is going to make us all feel good to go home for the holidays knowing that certain classes of patients will be helped. But I would say to my friends on both sides of the aisle, let us not stop there. In the second session of this Congress, let us take the bold scientific step necessary to provide cures for diseases that affect tens of millions of Americans and citizens around the world.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
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