mr. speaker , i rise in support of the stem cell research enhancement act .  the american people need and want a carefully crafted stem cell research policy that allows us to seek scientific breakthroughs .  we do not have such a policy today .  the stem cell policy established by president bush is severely restrictive and arbitrary .  the national institutes of health has reported that of the 78 stem cell lines promised by president bush , only 22 lines meet the president 's criteria for use .  a number of those lines have developed genetic mutations which will make research on them useless .  the vast majority of the remaining usable lines are in other countries that have shown little interest in making them available to u.s. researchers .  as a result , our researchers are falling behind their counterparts in other countries , and our citizens are watching their hopes for cures within their lifetimes slip away .  what is at stake are potential cures for diseases such as alzheimer 's , parkinson 's , diabetes and cancer .  the stem cell research enhancement act expands the number of stem cell lines that are available for federally funded research .  the bill also implements strong ethical requirements on stem cell lines that would be eligible for federally funded research .  this is an issue that can impact families across america , crossing all lines of income , political persuasion or religious affiliation .  furthermore , delay in effectively resolving this issue could for countless americans be a matter of basic health or indeed life .  keeping in mind the essential federal role in critical basic health research , i believe that it is essential that we support this bill so our country can continue in the lead in exploring the frontiers of science and medicine .  