i thank the gentleman for yielding me this time . 
mr. speaker , the gentleman from delaware ( mr. castle ) xz4000700 and the gentlewoman from colorado ( ms. degette ) xz4001010 deserve our thanks for sponsoring the stem cell research enhancement act and working with so many families who have been impacted by diseases that may find cures as a result of this vital research . 
their work and dedication on this legislation has been tremendous and praiseworthy . 
i also thank them for giving me the opportunity to cast one of the most important votes i will ever make in congress . 
almost everyone has lost some family member prematurely . 
i think of the grandmother , whom i never met , who died when her daughter , my mother , was only 16 . 
i think of my mother-in-law who never had the opportunity to know her grandchild who is now 25 . 
i think of my cousin , who was brilliant and never got to realize his full potential . 
embryonic stem cell research has the potential to cure disease and save lives in ways never dreamed of . 
and it is only 6 years old . 
these are discarded embryos that were never in the womb . 
they were not taken from it and they were not put into it . 
but they can help save lives . 
that is why it is so important that we not only pass this legislation today , but that the president signs this bill into law . 
sometimes ideology can box you in and cause you to make wrong and harmful decisions . 
i think it is time we recognize the dark ages are over . 
galileo and copernicus have been proven right . 
the world is in fact round . 
the earth does revolve around the sun . 
i believe god gave us intellect to differentiate between imprisoning dogma and sound ethical science , which is what we must do here today . 
i want history to look back at this congress and say that in the face of the age-old tension between religion and science , the members here allowed critical scientific research to advance while respecting important ethical questions that surrounded it . 
we know that by allowing embryonic stem cell research to go forward , treatments and prevention for diseases will not come to us overnight . 
but we also know embryonic stem cell research has the potential to yield significant scientific advances to heal and prevent so many diseases throughout the world . 
