mr. speaker , i wish to express my strong , principled and hopeful support of h.r. 810 .  i commend the vital leadership of my brave colleagues , representatives castle and degette , for bringing this urgent issue to the floor .  federal funding for embryonic stem cell research is needed to help american scientists move this research forward , research which has the potential to revolutionize medicine and save countless lives .  while adult stem cells have been very useful in treating some cancers , embryonic stem cells appear to have a far greater potential for treating disease than adult stem cells .  scientists regard embryonic stem cell research as one of the greatest hopes for the cure of medical conditions such as parkinson 's disease and diabetes due to their unique ability to develop into virtually any type of cell in the body .  recently , researchers at the university of miami came up with a technique to transform embryonic stem cells into the insulin-producing cells destroyed by type-l diabetes .  such research may also help us better understand the causes of birth defects , genetic abnormalities , and other conditions that arise during the critical period of early human growth .  other possible medical applications include the repair of crippling injuries such as spinal cord damage and the ability to correct the damaging side effects of existing medical treatments like chemotherapy .  this debate is not about whether or not embryonic stem cell research will progress , for it surely will .  this research is already taking place around the globe , and right here in america .  the question is : will we lead the way ?  this debate is about american leadership in this world .  for generations america has led the world in scientific advances .  we must continue to support the work of our brilliant scientists and help them once again lead the world in this vitally important new field .  this bipartisan legislation would expand the scope of stem cell research while enacting stringent procedural guidelines .  all activities would be subject to the strict ethical guidelines of the national institutes of health .  no federal funds would be used to conduct research on unapproved stem cell lines .  the cells used in this research will be donated voluntarily by patients of in-vitro fertilization clinics .  it makes no sense , and it is just plain wrong to ban research using embryos that are being simply thrown away today .  mr. speaker , it is not our place as legislators to decide which medical research does and does not have merit .  we must not block advances in life-saving and ethically conducted science .  i commend my colleagues for supporting this critical legislation .  