mr. speaker , this is a difficult issue for me .  i am a diabetic .  i have diabetes in my family .  i am cochairman of the congressional diabetes caucus .  my wife is a full-time diabetes educator .  she has spent her entire time as a health care professional educating and working with diabetics .  the gentleman from delaware ( mr. castle )  and the gentleman from massachusetts ( mr. langevin )  are very good friends of mine .  i have studied all their information .  i have tried to be as open about this as i possibly can be .  but i can say , mr. speaker , that in the end it comes down to not eliminating any type of research , because that is allowable in this country ; it is whether or not we should use federal funds .  california is using some $ 3 billion right now on what this bill is attempting to deal with .  in the end , mr. speaker , this is a very personal decision .  it is one that i agonized over .  i am not a medical professional .  i consulted with all four of my friends who are medical doctors in this chamber .  they have studied medicine , they understand medical research , they understand bioethics far better than i ever will , and i come down on their side .  i come down on the side of life .  i will oppose the bill that is being offered by my friend , the gentleman from delaware ( mr. castle )  and my friend , the gentlewoman from colorado ( ms. degette )  and i will support the alternative that is being offered by this conference .  