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Alternative Methods for Deriving Stem Cells Hearing S. HRG. 109–675 ALTERNATIVE METHODS FOR DERIVING STEM CELLS HEARING BEFORE A SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS UNITED STATES SENATE ONE HUNDRED NINTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION SPECIAL HEARING JULY 12, 2005—WASHINGTON, DC Printed for the use of the Committee on Appropriations ( Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/congress/index.html U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 24–576 PDF WASHINGTON : 2006 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512–1800; DC area (202) 512–1800 Fax: (202) 512–2250 Mail: Stop SSOP, Washington, DC 20402–0001 COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS THAD COCHRAN, Mississippi, Chairman TED STEVENS, Alaska ROBERT C. BYRD, West Virginia ARLEN SPECTER, Pennsylvania DANIEL K. INOUYE, Hawaii PETE V. DOMENICI, New Mexico PATRICK J. LEAHY, Vermont CHRISTOPHER S. BOND, Missouri TOM HARKIN, Iowa MITCH MCCONNELL, Kentucky BARBARA A. MIKULSKI, Maryland CONRAD BURNS, Montana HARRY REID, Nevada RICHARD C. SHELBY, Alabama HERB KOHL, Wisconsin JUDD GREGG, New Hampshire PATTY MURRAY, Washington ROBERT F. BENNETT, Utah BYRON L. DORGAN, North Dakota LARRY CRAIG, Idaho DIANNE FEINSTEIN, California KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON, Texas RICHARD J. DURBIN, Illinois MIKE DEWINE, Ohio TIM JOHNSON, South Dakota SAM BROWNBACK, Kansas MARY L. LANDRIEU, Louisiana WAYNE ALLARD, Colorado J. KEITH KENNEDY, Staff Director TERRENCE E. SAUVAIN, Minority Staff Director SUBCOMMITTEE ON DEPARTMENTS OF LABOR, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, AND EDUCATION, AND RELATED AGENCIES ARLEN SPECTER, Pennsylvania, Chairman THAD COCHRAN, Mississippi TOM HARKIN, Iowa JUDD GREGG, New Hampshire DANIEL K. INOUYE, Hawaii LARRY CRAIG, Idaho HARRY REID, Nevada KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON, Texas HERB KOHL, Wisconsin TED STEVENS, Alaska PATTY MURRAY, Washington MIKE DEWINE, Ohio MARY L. LANDRIEU, Louisiana RICHARD C. SHELBY, Alabama RICHARD J. DURBIN, Illinois ROBERT C. BYRD, West Virginia (Ex officio) Professional Staff BETTILOU TAYLOR JIM SOURWINE MARK LAISCH SUDIP SHRIKANT PARIKH CANDICE ROGERS ELLEN MURRAY (Minority) ERIK FATEMI (Minority) ADRIENNE HALLETT (Minority) Administrative Support RACHEL JONES (II) CONTENTS Page Opening statement of Senator Arlen Specter ........................................................ 1 Opening statement of Senator Ten Stevens .......................................................... 3 Statement of James F. Battey, M.D., Ph.D., Director, National Institute on Deafness and other Communication Disorders, and Chair of NIH Stem Cell Task Force, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services ................................................................................................... 4 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 6 Opening statement of Senator Tom Harkin .......................................................... 9 Statement of Robert Lanza ..................................................................................... 12 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 14 Statement of Ronald M. Green ............................................................................... 15 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 17 Statement of George Q. Daley ................................................................................ 18 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 22 Statement of William B. Hurlbut ........................................................................... 25 (III) ALTERNATIVE METHODS FOR DERIVING STEM CELLS TUESDAY, JULY 12, 2005 U.S. SENATE, SUBCOMMITTEE ON LABOR, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, EDUCATION, AND RELATED AGENCIES, COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS, Washington, DC. The subcommittee met at 9:30 a.m., in room SD–124, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Arlen Specter (chairman) presiding. Present: Senators Specter, Stevens, Harkin, and Murray. OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR ARLEN SPECTER Senator SPECTER. Good morning. This is the 16th hearing held by this subcommittee on this very important subject. When stem cells came upon the scene in November 1998, this subcommittee scheduled a hearing within 10 days thereafter, and has been pur- suing this subject very, very diligently over the course of the inter- vening 7 years. The ban on Federal funding for stem cell research has impeded the National Institutes of Health from pursuing this very impor- tant subject. Through the leadership of this subcommittee, the funding for NIH has been increased from $12 billion to $28 billion, providing very significant funding which could have been used for stem cell research but has not been because of the prohibition. Now, there is grave concern that we are not moving far enough or fast enough on scientific research on the issues where stem cells could save lives. There is a battle between those who say that it is the destruction of human life, which I believe it is not. These stem cells are created—or these embryos are created for in vitro fertilization and those not used are discarded. There are some 400,000 now frozen, which will be discarded unless they are used. This subcommittee again took the lead in appropriating some $1 million, which we are increasing this year to $2 million, to encour- age adoption of embryos. If these embryos could be turned into life, none of us would advocate at all using them for scientific research. But when the option is to throw them away or use them, it seems at least to me, that it is a clear cut choice. We expect to have the Senate take up a number of bills coming to the floor in the course of the next several days. They are not yet all written and we are trying to get copies of them. The principal piece of legislation is the House-passed bill, which is identical to legislation which Senator Harkin and I have introduced in the Sen- (1) 2 ate. That will remove the restrictions so that the Federal funds can be used for stem cell research. There is another promising approach, which we will be exploring in today’s hearing, which is yet in the very, very early stages, which would be able preserve the embryo and still harvest the stem cells. Again, subject to what these hearings produce and what the floor debate produces, if we can pass the House bill, Specter-Harkin, that is the most important bill to be enacted. If we can move ahead and enact other legislation which would hold the promise of pre- serving the embryos and still have stem cells harvesting, that is certainly worth exploring. There is the so-called Bartlett bill coming out of the House, which may be on the Senate floor. We have not seen the full con- tours of that, but I am advised preliminarily that—that would maintain the ban which exists now to prohibit Federal funding. If that is so, I would be totally opposed to it. Just one final word on a personal note. President Nixon declared war on cancer in 1970. When we devoted the resources to that war, which we have devoted to other wars, I think we would have found a cure for cancer by this time. We all have very, very close personal experiences, some more personal than others, with members of our families or loved ones who have been stricken by the maladies where scientific research could have provided cures. Carey Lackman, a member of the Senate family, who many of you knew, my chief of staff for many years, worked for Senator Heinz more than a decade ago, worked for me as chief of staff, died last year of breast cancer; a beautiful young woman of 48. She is really symbolic of so many women who have lost their lives from breast cancer. That could be replicated on prostate cancer. It could be replicated on heart disease and many, many other ailments where there is the potential to save lives. As is well known from the terrible pictures which appear of me repeatedly in the press and on television, I have been a victim of identity theft. As I have said, from time to time, I look in the mir- ror every morning and cannot recognize who I am. But I cannot help thinking that had the Nixon war on cancer really been waged with intensity, that there would have been a cure, a preventative for Hodgkin’s lymphoma cancer, with which I now am engaging in a fierce battle. So, there is a very strong personal note to my own view. As has been reported, some 50 Republicans voted for the legislation in the House, because in many ways personal experiences—I hope we do not have to come to a point where 535 of us have personal experi- ences before we lead the battle for some 110 million Americans who suffer directly or indirectly from maladies which could be cured by the NIH research or perhaps by stem cells. Let me turn now to the distinguished former chairman of the full committee, who himself—well, he may want to speak for himself about his own leadership on the scientific research and his work to combat prostate cancer. Senator Stevens. 3 OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR TED STEVENS Senator STEVENS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for holding the hearing today. I am sorry I will not be able to stay through it, as I have my Commerce hearing at 10 o’clock. But this is a topic of critical importance. I do not think I know anyone who has not had some experience with cancer, personally or in the family. Mine was prostate cancer and I am pleased to say that so far I have survived that. I am very aware of your situation
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