mr. speaker , as an original co-sponsor of h.r. 810 , i rise in support of the stem cell research enhancement act .  i want to applaud my colleagues rep .  castle and rep .  degette for working together to introduce this common sense bi-partisan measure .  mr. speaker , we know that our population is aging .  debilitating chronic diseases like cancer , parkinson 's , alzheimer 's , and diabetes are becoming far more common .  diabetes in particular is a huge problem , and like many other diseases , minority communities are disproportionately affected by it .  in my district in alameda county , approximately 13.4 percent of african americans have been diagnosed with diabetes compared to 4.5 percent of whites .  and the diabetes death rates of latinos and african americans are as high as 2-2.5 times those of whites .  expanding the number of embryonic stem cell lines available for research will assist scientists to develop therapeutic treatments and cures for diabetes and a range of other diseases .  by passing this bill we will not only help to improve the health and well being of the public , but we will also help to eliminate future chronic health care costs and improve the health of our economy as a whole .  i urge my colleagues to support this bill .  