mr. speaker , i yield myself such time as i may consume . 
mr. speaker , i rise in strong support of h.r. 2520 , the stem cell therapeutic and research act of 2005 , legislation i have cosponsored along with the honorable gentleman from new jersey ( mr. smith ) xz4003801 , who is in the chamber . 
this would expand the number of stem cell options available to americans suffering from life-threatening diseases . 
every year , nearly two-thirds of the approximately 200 , 000 patients in need of a bone marrow transplant will not find a marrow donor match within their families . 
these patients must rely on the help of strangers to donate bone marrow for a transplant . 
to assist these patients , congress established the national bone marrow registry to quickly match donors to patients . 
through this program , congress made a significant investment to connect patients with a rich source of stem cells that offer immediate clinical benefits . 
with scientific advances , congress must now make changes to reflect new therapeutic options . 
cord blood units have been shown to be a suitable alternative to adult bone marrow for the treatment of many diseases , including sickle cell anemia . 
this is an especially important advancement for those americans who have desperately searched for a marrow donor but could not find a match with even the help of the national bone marrow registry . 
as another rich source of stem cells , a cord blood transplant is another chance at life for many of these patients . 
the bill before us today builds on the critical investments we have made over the past 2 decades with the national bone marrow registry and retools this design into a new , more comprehensive stem cell transplantation program , which will include not only bone marrow but also cord blood units . 
through a competitive contracting process , this new program will allow transplant doctors and patients to access information about cord blood units and bone marrow donors , at the same time , and i want to emphasize at the same time , through a single point of access . 
this new program does not create a preference for either cord blood or bone marrow . 
instead , it will provide comprehensive information about both sources of stem cells to doctors and patients and allow them to make the most clinically appropriate choice . 
i want to recognize the gentleman from florida ( mr. young ) xz4004391 at this time . 
it was the gentleman from florida 's ( mr. young ) xz4004391 drive , when he was chairman of the committee on appropriations , and his steadfast support for the idea of a national registry for bone marrow that led to the program 's creation . 
the gentleman from florida 's ( mr. young ) xz4004391 lifesaving work is evident again today in the program 's new design and goals . 
i am pleased that congress is recognizing his dedication by naming this new program the c.w . 
bill young cell transplantation program . 
i do not see the gentleman from florida ( mr. young ) xz4004391 in the chamber , but at the appropriate time when he does arrive , i hope that the body will give him a standing ovation for his work in this area . 
the capacity to search for cord blood units through a national network of cord blood banks will help facilitate cord blood transplants . 
we also need to expand the inventory of cord blood units so that more transplants can occur . 
the bill before us today authorizes a new grant program to provide subsidies to cord blood stem cell banks to expand the inventory of high-quality cord blood units that will be included in the new , expanded cell transplantation program . 
i think that number is 150 , 000 units , which is a significant increase . 
in addition to expanding the number of cord blood units available for clinical use to save lives today , the bill would also expand the number of cord blood units available for research . 
research on adult stem cells holds the potential to develop new cures for many diseases , as well as to expand our knowledge of how human beings develop and the body works . 
i would also like to make a personal aside here . 
my wife and i are expecting a child in september , and we are working with the cord blood people as we speak so that my son , and it is going to be a little boy and we are going to name him jack ryan , that we are going to save his cord blood so that some day in the future , if he needs it , it will be available . 
so in this case i can honestly say , in addition to sponsoring the bill , i am beginning to practice what i am preaching today . 
it is not enough to connect patients with lifesaving donors . 
we also need to better understand how these patients fair when they receive the transplants . 
the bill would authorize research on the clinical outcomes of patients who are recipients of a stem cell therapeutic product , including bone marrow , cord blood , and other such products , from a biologically unrelated donor . 
it is my hope that this additional research will trigger new scientific breakthroughs to enhance and advance human life . 
this is an important bill that merited many hours of negotiation , demanded the willingness of all those involved to put the interest of their patients first . 
i would like to thank the bill 's primary sponsor , the honorable gentleman from new jersey ( mr. smith ) xz4003801 . 
i would also like to thank the gentleman from florida ( mr. young ) xz4004391 ; the house leadership , including the honorable gentleman from texas ( mr. delay ) xz4001040 ; congressional black caucus ; the gentleman from michigan ( mr. dingell ) xz4001100 , the ranking democrat on the committee ; the gentleman from ohio ( mr. brown ) xz4000501 , the subcommittee ranking member who is here to speak on the bill ; and all of the staff who have labored on this bill . 
particularly , i would like to thank cheryl jaeger , on my left , of my committee staff , for all of her efforts . 
she has been tireless in the last several months working on this bill . 
in the last few weeks , she has been able to forge a compromise that ultimately was acceptable to all the advocates of both bone marrow and cord blood . 
we will continue to improve the legislation that moves forward so that pregnant women are informed of all of their options with respect to cord blood donation and the programmatic activities of the cell transplantation program are clarified . 
mr. speaker , at the appropriate time , i would urge all of my colleagues to support this bill . 
it is good legislation , well thought out , and deserving of majority support . 
the stem cell therapeutic and research act of 2005 establishes a foundation for improving access to lifesaving cellular therapy transplants the national marrow donor program ( nmdp ) is pleased that the sponsors of the stem cell therapeutic and research act of 2005 have taken a positive step forward toward expanding the long-standing congressional commitment to cellular transplant therapies by introducing legislation to continue federal support for bone marrow , peripheral blood , and umbilical cord blood transplantation and research . 
through the legislation introduced today , they acknowledge the important role congress has played and must continue to play in ensuring that the more than 14 , 000 americans in need of these types of transplants have access to them . 
the bill calls for federal dollars to increase the number of umbilical cord blood units available for transplant and research . 
currently , there are 42 , 000 units available through the existing national bone marrow donor registry ( national registry ) , which also lists more than 9 million adult donors worldwide . 
with additional umbilical cord blood units added to this registry , more americans who would otherwise not be able to locate a suitably matched adult donor will be able to find hope through a cord blood transplant . 
the nmdp estimates that with access to the existing adult donors and units , the addition of 150 , 000 cord blood units listed through the existing registry will provide a match for approximately 95 percent of americans . 
by designating the existing national registry as the c.w . 
bill young cell transplantation program , the sponsors have acknowledged representative young 's unwavering commitment to the national registry and its growth . 
in 1986 , representative young 's vision of a single integrated national bone marrow donor registry became a reality . 
since that time , the national registry has facilitated more than 21 , 000 unrelated transplants involving cord blood , bone marrow , and peripheral blood . 
it now includes more than 5 million u.s. adult volunteer donors and has links to another 4 million worldwide . 
as evidence supporting cord blood as a source of the same cells found in bone marrow and peripheral blood has grown , the national registry , operated by the nmdp , has expanded the expansion of the program will benefit patients most if they are able to access the new sources of cells easily and efficiently . 
the nmdp supports the intent of the sponsors to provide patients and physicians with access to cord blood , bone marrow , and peripheral blood stem cells through a single point of access . 
to ensure the continued expansion of cord blood transplants , it is important that patients and physicians can search for all of these sources through a single registry , compare each source of cells for transplant quickly and efficiently , and obtain the cells once the search process is finished . 
one-stop-shopping to obtain information and logistical support is a critical component of the success of transplantation regardless of whether adult donors or cord blood units are used . 
the bill although this bill is a step in the right direction , it is critically important that the program also have the authority to establish criteria and standards that provide transplant physicians with the assurances they need to be confident that when they compare various cord blood units and/or adult donors , they have the same type of information about each unit or donor . 
in addition , the nmdp urges members to recognize that transplant patients may encounter other barriers to accessing cellular therapy transplants . 
the need for assistance in addressing barriers to access should be extended to all recipients of transplants under this program , regardless of cell source . 
physicians and patients must be able to receive all of the services necessary for a successful the nmdp applauds the sponsors for undertaking this important public health initiative . 
through their leadership , thousands of americans who might otherwise die will have access to lifesaving bone marrow , peripheral blood stem cell , and cord blood transplants . 
statement of administration policy -- may 24 , 2005 the administration strongly supports house passage of h.r. 2520 , which would facilitate the use of umbilical-cord-blood stem cells in biomedical research and in the treatment of disease . 
cord-blood stem cells , collected from the placenta and umbilical cord after birth without doing harm to mother or child , have been used in the treatment of thousands of patients suffering from more than 60 different diseases , including leukemia , fanconi anemia , sickle cell disease , and thalassemia . 
researchers also believe cord-blood stem cells may have the capacity to be differentiated into other cell types , making them useful in the exploration of ethical stem cell therapies for regenerative medicine . 
h.r. 2520 would increase the publicly available inventory of cord-blood stem cells by enabling the department of health and human services ( hhs ) to contract with cord-blood banks to assist them in the collection and maintenance of 150 , 000 cord-blood stem cell units . 
this would make matched cells available to treat more than 90 percent of patients in need . 
the bill would also link all participating cord-blood banks to a search network operated under contract with hhs , allowing physicians to search for matches for their patients quickly and effectively in one place . 
the bill also would reauthorize a similar program already in place for aiding the use of adult bone marrow in medical care . 
there is now $ 19 million available to implement the cord blood cell bank the administration also applauds the bill 's effort to facilitate research into the potential of cord-blood stem cells to advance regenerative medicine in an ethical way . 
some research indicates that cord blood cells may have the ability to be differentiated into other cell types , in ways similar to embryonic stem cells , and so present similar potential uses but without raising the ethical problems involved in the intentional destruction of human embryos . 
the administration encourages efforts to seek ethical ways to pursue stem cell research , and believes that -- with the appropriate combination of responsible policies and innovative scientific techniques -- this field of research can advance without violating important ethical boundaries . 
h.r. 2520 is an important step in that direction . 
mr. speaker , i reserve the balance of my time . 
