mr. speaker , in 1999 young tessa wick was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes . 
she began the laborious process which changed her life and she dedicated herself to doing everything that she possibly could to ensure that no one would have to suffer as she has . 
during that period of time , she has worked to raise large sums of money . 
she has testified before the united states senate , and last friday her father told me that she said to him not a lot has been accomplished yet . 
we have not yet found a cure . 
and her father said to me that we need to do everything that we possibly can to ensure that we do find a cure . 
we are all supportive of umbilical cord research , but i believe that it is proper for us to pursue embryonic stem cell research , mr. speaker . 
in a week and a half , we mark the first anniversary of ronald reagan 's passing . 
everyone knows how passionately nancy reagan feels about the need for us to pursue this research . 
i believe it is the appropriate thing to do . 
now , there are no guarantees . 
we all know there are no guarantees at all , but passage of this legislation does provide an opportunity for hope , hope that we will be able to turn the corner on these debilitating diseases from which so many people suffer . 
and so i hope very much that we can pursue a bipartisan approach to this important measure . 
and while i am concerned that there is disagreement with the president of the united states , i hope that we will be able to , at the end of the day , work out a bipartisan agreement that will include the president of the united states in this effort . 
