mr. speaker , i thank the ranking member for yielding me this time .  let me thank the sponsors of this legislation , the gentleman from new jersey ( mr. smith )  , the gentleman from texas ( mr. barton )  , the gentleman from alabama ( mr. davis )  , and , of course , the gentlewoman from colorado ( ms. degette )  and the gentleman from delaware ( mr. castle )  for the second bill , the bills being h.r. 810 and h.r. 2520 .  let me just say that separating these two legislative initiatives would be like separating the flag from the pledge of allegiance .  it is appropriate to have a marriage today of two very vital and important legislative initiatives , one dealing with adult stem cell research , which is vital and done along ethical lines and will help many in our community that have a number of significant diseases ; in particular , alzheimer 's and sickle cell anemia .  then , of course , the importance of stem cell lines and expanding it under federal funding is something that we can not imagine .  let me tell my colleagues about an individual that i love and admire in my community , reverend m.l .  jackson , exciting , exuberant , a leader in our community .  his family just said that with all of his leadership and heading up ministerial alliances , he has alzheimer 's .  i go home this weekend to meet with reverend jackson and to recount his life with him as he now sees it .  but would it not be wonderful for a vibrant and outstanding leader of our community to have an expanded opportunity , as nancy reagan argued for , for president reagan .  unless federal funding for stem cell research is expanded , the united states stands in real danger of falling behind other countries in this promising area of research .  i would mention that the national academy of sciences recently issued a set of guidelines to ensure that human embryonic stem cell research is conducted in a safe and ethical manner .  this legislation , the castle-degette legislation , h.r. 810 , and , of course , the fantastic and forward-thinking legislation , h.r. 2520 , sponsored by the gentleman from texas ( mr. barton )  , the gentleman from new jersey ( mr. smith )  , and the gentleman from alabama ( mr. davis )  , represents a coming together of our family .  it certainly deserves a good marriage .  just as we can not separate the pledge and the flag , let us unite today and vote unanimously on these two outstanding initiatives to support american stem cell research , and to save lives .  mr. chairman , i rise this morning in support of the `` stem cell therapeutic and research act of 2005. '' this measure , sponsored by christopher h. smith , joe barton , and artur davis would promote research on a type of stem cell , known as an adult stem cell , taken from umbilical cord blood .  in addition , the bill creates a new federal program to collect and store umbilical-cord-blood stem cells , and expands the current bone-marrow registry program .  while i have no objections to the bill , it is important that no one view h.r. 2520 as a substitute for h.r. 810 , the `` stem cell research enhancement act. '' these are entirely different bills , but both deserve passage .  recent discoveries have convinced scientists that stem cells might eventually become the key to treating diseases such as parkinson 's , diabetes , and heart disease .  researchers hope to be able to study stem cells to better understand how diseases develop and eventually use them to generate tissues that could replace damaged or diseased tissues and organs in patients .  adult stem cells are unspecialized cells found in specialized tissue such as bone marrow or skeletal tissue .  initially , scientists viewed their medical applications as limited in what they can become to the cell types from which they were extracted .  recent evidence has suggested that adult stem cells could provide more flexibility than previously thought , according to the national institutes of health .  this legislation would create a new federal program to collect and store umbilical-cord-blood stem cells , and reauthorizes and expands the current bone marrow registry program .  i am supportive of this bill because it would be of great benefit to african americans .  this bill has specific language that would diversify the bone marrow banks of this nation .  this would be of extreme importance to many african americans suffering from sickle cell anemia .  as you can see , these are complicated issues , but i think we are headed in the right direction .  this bill would help our doctors and scientists discover new treatments and cures for otherwise debilitating and incurable diseases and ailments .  for this i must support it .  however , i can not support this bill without clarifying that it should not be viewed as an alternative to h.r. 810 , rather as a complementary force .  