mr. speaker , today the house is considering h.r. 810 , the stem cell research enhancement act of 2005 , which expands funding for embryonic stem cell research . 
as an advocate of stem cell research , i 'm proud to be an original cosponsor of this legislation because i believe that this critical research can lead to cures for type 1 diabetes , parkinson 's disease , alzheimer 's disease , paralysis caused by spinal cord injury , and other serious health problems . 
over 3 , 000 people die every day in the united states from diseases that may some day be treatable as a result of stem cell research . 
now is the time for congress and the administration to recognize that the current policy does not work . 
in 2001 , president bush crafted a policy to allow limited federal support for some embryonic stem cell research . 
four years later , however , it 's clear that his policy has hindered progress . 
today , of the 78 stem cells lines approved for federal research , only 22 are available to researchers . 
these 22 lines are not only contaminated but were also developed with outdated techniques . 
under h.r. 810 , embryonic stem cell lines will be eligible only if embryos used to derive stem cells were originally created for fertility treatment purposes and are in excess of clinical need . 
today , there are thousands of surplus embryos from fertility treatments that will never be used and will likely be discarded . 
we should allow parents to donate these embryos for use in federally-funded stem cell research . 
this november , my home-state of california approved a $ 3 billion ballot initiative supported by governor schwarzenegger to fund embryonic stem-cell experiments . 
it is the largest state-supported scientific research program . 
this initiative puts california at the forefront of the field and exceeds all current stem cell projects in the united states . 
however , with the federal government on the sidelines , scientists are still reluctant to pursue stem cell research and the private sector is unwilling to invest in the field . 
we are losing ground to the rest of the world . 
as the washington post reported last friday ( may 20 , 2005 ) , south korea is leapfrogging ahead of us and is developing techniques proving that stem cell research is robust . 
now , the public , researchers and industry are looking to congress for leadership . 
stem cell research should not be about politics . 
it should be about science , medicine and hope . 
we have an opportunity to help end the suffering of millions of people with chronic or terminal diseases , and we should seize it . 
stem cell research is not only critical to saving lives but it also stimulates our nation 's economy . 
stem cell research is the next `` big thing '' in biotechnology after the human genome project . 
long-term economic growth depends on productivity , productivity depends on technology , and technology ultimately depends on basic science , which is why any policy restricting federal funding for embryonic stem-cell research threatens the long-term health and vitality of the u.s. economy . 
biotechnology is at a stage of development similar to where information technology was in the late 1980s -- ready to explode . 
for our leadership in science and technological leadership , where innovative leading-edge research is carried out matters a great deal , but under the current policy we 're leaving the field even before the game has begun . 
now the president has said he will veto this bill . 
he may succeed in stifling stem cell research in our country , but he will not stop scientific progress . 
it will occur elsewhere . 
if the u.s. fails to embrace stem cell research , we will only slow progress in treating disease and cede our leading role as a technological leader . 
the federal government should be in the business of encouraging and assisting research that can help save the lives of its citizens . 
the stem cell research enhancement act of 2005 accelerates scientific progress toward cures and treatments for a wide range of diseases while simultaneously instituting stronger ethical requirements on stem cell lines that are eligible for federally funded research . 
i urge all my colleagues in the house to support this legislation . 
