mr. speaker , today the political center will hold with nancy reagan , and this congress will stand for yankee ingenuity and stem cell research .  our constitution stands at its heart for the principle of the dignity of every individual and this idea is certainly central to our government and people .  but there is a key american principle at the heart of our people that predates the constitution .  nearly all of us are the sons and daughters of people who took risks to come to build a new life in a new world .  if there is one american character that totally distinguishes us from all other countries , it is that americans are innovators , explorers , inventors and scientists .  we take risks , we try new things ; and for 200 years the future came first to americans , the most dynamic and forward-thinking people in all of human history .  we invented the telephone , the radio , the airplane , we eradicated polio .  americans now receive more nobel prizes in medicine than all other european countries combined .  we stand for innovation and leadership , and this congress should ensure that american patients never have to leave our shores to find a cure .  