E106 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks January 12, 2007 honored with a Superior Performance Award search. We do not live in the Dark Ages—and mother cooked. When his father asked him in 1980, a Commander Award for Civilian nor should our public policy. With this vote, what he wanted to do, he said he ‘‘wanted to Service in 1988 and 1999, a Special Act of this Congress has an opportunity to show the be in the infantry.’’ When his father then asked Service Award in 1991, the Superior Civilian world we are a country that believes science him about the issue of Iraq, Balint responded Service Award in 1992, and a Meritorious Ci- has the power to advance life. that he wanted to go ‘‘fight that stuff.’’ vilian Service Award in 1996. Mr. Speaker, I believe we are such a coun- Balint enlisted in the armed forces in Willow Madam Speaker, Robert Woody is a valu- try. The world has always looked to America Park, Texas, with his brother, mother and fa- able member of his community and his leader- as a beacon of hope precisely because of our ther at his side. ship will be greatly missed. Mr. Woody plans capacity to use our abundant resources to After completing basic training, Balint had to travel with his companion, continuing farm- promote the best ideas in the world. Let’s con- the Soldiers Creed branded into memory, and ing, teaching Fire Science and Safety with tinue that tradition. Let’s lead the way—let’s into his heart. Missouri’s Division of Fire Safety, and spend- support this bill. Madam Speaker, in honor of Private Balint, I would like to read aloud the Soldiers Creed. ing time with his two sons, Andy and Adam. f As he begins the next phase of his life, I know THE SOLDIERS CREED the Members of the House will join me in HONORING TONY GWYNN’S ELEC- I am an American Soldier. thanking Robert Woody for his service to the TION TO BASEBALL HALL OF I am a Warrior and a member of a team. Fort Leonard Wood Fire Department and wish FAME I serve the people of the United States and live the Army Values. him well as he begins his retirement. I will always place the mission first. f HON. JULIA CARSON I will never accept defeat. OF INDIANA I will never quit. STEM CELL RESEARCH IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES I will never leave a fallen comrade. ENHANCEMENT ACT OF 2007 I am disciplined, physically and mentally Friday, January 12, 2007 tough, trained and proficient in my SPEECH OF Ms. CARSON. Madam Speaker, I rise today warrior tasks and drills. HON. ROSA L. DeLAURO to recognize my good friend Tony Gwynn and I always maintain my arms, my equipment congratulate him on his election to the Base- and myself. OF CONNECTICUT I am an expert and I am a professional. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ball Hall of Fame. This high honor caps a ca- I stand ready to deploy, engage, and destroy reer of great accomplishment, respect for the Thursday, January 11, 2007 the enemies of the United States of game, the fans and his team the San Diego America in close combat. Ms. DELAURO. Madam Speaker, no single Padres. I am a guardian of freedom and the Amer- action this Congress could take would have a Tony is an all around athlete having been ican way of life. more profound, more life-affirming impact than drafted by both the Padres and Clippers be- I am an American Soldier. allocating federal funds for biomedical sci- fore focusing on his baseball career. He is a Private Balint is gone, but he will never be entists to conduct research with human em- member of the exclusive 3,000 hit club, a five- forgotten. God Speed to his family and to the bryonic stem cells. Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, time gold glove winner at right field and an United States of America. brain and spinal cord disorders, diabetes, can- eight-time National League Batting Champion. f cer—at least 58 diseases could potentially be These numbers are amazing enough but add- cured through stem cell research. Diseases ing to that the Roberto Clemente award for STEM CELL RESEARCH that touch every family here in America and dedication to community and 15 trips to the ENHANCEMENT ACT OF 2007 throughout the world. All-Star Game at the request of baseball fans SPEECH OF And Mr. Speaker, I stand here as someone worldwide shows the love and respect fans of who understands the promise of biomedical baseball showed to him as well. HON. JAMES L. OBERSTAR research all too well. Having been diagnosed Congratulations on your election today to OF MINNESOTA with ovarian cancer by chance on an unre- the Baseball Hall of Fame. I am proud of you IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES lated doctor’s visit two decades ago, I know Tony, you deserve it and the best of luck in Thursday, January 11, 2007 first-hand how this research can change retirement. Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, the issue of lives—it saved mine. It can quite literally mean f embryonic stem cell research places humanity the difference between life and death. Be- on the frontier of medical science and at the tween hope and despair. TRIBUTE TO ARMY PFC PAUL BALINT, JR. outer edge of moral theology. To be clear, I think it is safe to say that On the side of science there is much hope, every Member of this body is excited about even expectation that extraordinarily effective the recent news regarding the scientific poten- HON. KAY GRANGER therapies will be developed to treat—and pos- tial in amniotic stem cells. One can only imag- OF TEXAS sibly cure—a wide range of maladies such as ine the medical breakthroughs this research IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES diabetes, Parkinson’s, spinal cord injury and a has in store for us. Friday, January 12, 2007 host of others. Progress has been achieved in But scientists tell us it is no replacement for the laboratory in animal studies and in human embryonic research—just as the limited num- Ms. GRANGER. Madam Speaker, I rise application. Much has yet to be learned, how- ber of stem cell lines President Bush made today to honor the courage of a young hero ever, about adverse outcomes, which is why available in 2001 were not a replacement for from my district. On December 15, 2006, Army scientists proceed cautiously without over full federal funding of this research. Indeed, Private First Class Paul Balint, Jr. (B Com- promising and with respect for the moral con- this finding simply reminds us how critical it is pany, 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, siderations of their research. that we pursue any and every kind of research 1st Infantry Division) died in Al Ramadi, Iraq, The latter gives me the greatest pause. An that can contribute to our understanding of in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Private editorial in America Magazine said it well: these diseases—so long as we can ensure it Balint had served in the Army for over a year ‘‘The debate over embryonic stem cell re- is performed with the utmost dignity and eth- and in Iraq for three months, before sustaing search cannot be fully resolved because it is ical responsibility. That is what ‘‘expanding fatal injuries during an attack on his battalion. ignited by irreconcilable views of what rev- stem cell research’’ is all about. Balint was known as a loyal friend and sol- erence for life requires.’’ And for sure, this legislation does just that— dier. His parents remember him as a compas- Let us recall Louise Brown, the first test permitting peer-reviewed federal funds to only sionate man and a mediator, always thinking tube baby. Her life began in vitro, as a fer- be used with public oversight and by only al- about others and wanting to make sure every- tilized egg. There are many potential Louise lowing research on embryos that were origi- one was having a good time. He also had a Browns, potential human beings conceived in nally created for fertility treatment purposes love for hip-hop music and was going to add the laboratory but leftover as cryogenic em- and that are in excess of clinical need and will music to the home videos he filmed while in bryos. Are they to be discarded, or, can they otherwise be destroyed. Iraq. ethically be used for stem cell research? That I believe the real moral issue here is wheth- His parents had no doubts about what their is the moral theology issue that we must re- er the United States Congress is going to son wanted to do with his life. He was going solve. stand in the way of science and preclude the to be a soldier. Balint used to recite the ‘‘The The reality is that human life is established scientists from doing lifesaving, ethical re- Soldiers Creed’’ at the kitchen table while his in creating an embryo, whether in vitro or in

VerDate Aug 31 2005 06:19 Jan 13, 2007 Jkt 059060 PO 00000 Frm 00020 Fmt 0626 Sfmt 9920 E:\CR\FM\A12JA8.069 E12JAPT1 hmoore on PROD1PC68 with HMREMARKS January 12, 2007 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks E107 utero. Each of us has to decide the morality of search, the institute created to oversee the ure passed in November 2004, jubilant sup- this core element of the embryonic stem cell enterprise has just begun what experts see as porters had predicted that $350 million a research issue. It is extraordinary research on a long and slow scientific journey. Even with year from bond sales would start flowing to the $150-million state loan approved recently scientists by May 2005. the farthest frontier of science, experimenting to kick-start work stalled by legal chal- with the very origins of human life. It is re- The first reality check came in the form of lenges, there are no breakthroughs in sight. lawsuits by taxpayer and antiabortion search which raises profound questions, an- Gone are the allusions to healing such afflic- groups. chored in moral theology, about the intrinsic tions as spinal cord injuries and Parkinson’s Today, the bonds remain tied up in litiga- nature of human life—when it begins, when it and Alzheimer’s diseases that dominated the tion, though stem cell institute officials are is infused with an immortal soul, and when it 2004 campaign for Proposition 71. In fact, sci- confident that an appellate court will uphold ends. entists say, there is no guarantee of cures— a favorable ruling from a Superior Court The answers to those questions are not certainly not any time soon—from the meas- judge. To tide over the institute, Gov. Ar- crystal clear; they are not subject merely to ure that was optimistically titled the Cali- nold Schwarzenegger in July promised a fornia Stem Cell Research and Cures Act. scientific formulation; the answers may simply $150-million state loan. A state finance com- Set for final approval at UC Irvine this mittee formally approved the loan Nov. 20, lie in conscience between each of us and our week, the draft plan is clear: ‘‘It is unlikely God. and the institute is gearing up to award its that [the California Institute of Regenera- first research grants in January. For myself, I resolve the uncertainties of this tive Medicine] will be able to fully develop moral dilemma in favor of the most vulnerable: stem cell therapy for routine clinical use Even if researchers hit the ground running, during the 10 years of the plan.’’ the field is young and progress is likely to be unborn human life, which compels me to vote slow. Scientists at the University of Wis- no on the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Instead, the top goal is to establish, in principle, that a therapy developed from consin derived the first human embryonic Act (H.R. 3). human embryonic stem cells can ‘‘restore stem cells just eight years ago, using do- f function for at least one disease. ‘‘ nated embryos left over from in vitro fer- STEM CELL RESEARCH That would be only the first step toward tilization clinics. ENHANCEMENT ACT OF 2007 persuading pharmaceutical or biotech com- Dana Cody, executive director of Life panies to fund expanded clinical trials, a Legal Defense Foundation, which represents SPEECH OF process that takes years and millions of dol- two of the groups that sued, said the plan’s lars. Fewer than 20% of potential therapies modest ambitions are a sign that the initia- HON. WALLY HERGER that enter trials make it to market. tive’s promise was overblown. OF CALIFORNIA In addition, the institute hopes to have ‘‘I just don’t understand the fascination IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES treatments for two to four more diseases in with embryonic stem cell research other development within the decade. Thursday, January 11, 2007 than that it’s something supported by Holly- ‘‘We picked a goal that we thought was re- wood,’’ said Cody, whose organization sup- Mr. HERGER. Mr. Speaker, while I support alistic, that, with some luck, would be ports research using adult stem cells. ‘‘Even promoting ethical stem cell research to ad- achieved,’’ institute President Zach Hall proponents say it’s going to be years before vance the progress of medicine and cure dis- said. ‘‘The field will go on beyond 10 years. any breakthroughs are made, if at all.’’ We want to have a whole pipeline of things Those who support the research—espe- eases, I rise in opposition to H.R. 3, the ‘‘Stem that are in movement.’’ Cell Research Enhancement Act.’’ Jesse Reynolds of the Oakland-based Cen- cially those whose lives could depend on it— In 2004, my State of California approved a ter for Genetics and Society, a watchdog see the institute’s plan through a lens of $3 billion bond measure to fund embryonic group that supports stem cell research but hope. stem cell research. The referendum was sold advocates better public accountability, The science ‘‘is coming along fast, in my to voters as an investment in cures for debili- called the goals ‘‘refreshingly honest.’’ opinion,’’ said John Ames, whose son David tating diseases, like spinal cord injuries and ‘‘The Prop. 71 campaign went beyond the was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral scle- line of responsible political rhetoric,’’ he rosis, or Lou Gehrig’s disease, four years Alzheimer’s. Yet a December 3, 2006, article said. ‘‘If there are therapies, they’re decades ago. ‘‘I’m not trying to contradict the posi- in the Los Angeles Times, entitled ‘‘Reality out.’’ tion of the strategic plan, but we have hope. Check for Stem Cell Optimism,’’ notes that One TV ad, for instance, showed an uniden- We’re going to win.’’ these promises were vastly overstated. In fact, tified young mother beside a child strapped The life expectancy of someone diagnosed the research institution’s draft plan now says it in a wheelchair and breathing through a with the devastatingly progressive neuro- is ‘‘unlikely’’ that any stem cell therapies will tube. muscular disease is three to five years. ‘‘I will vote ‘yes’ on Prop. 71, definitely,’’ ‘‘The thing that drives these individuals be developed for clinical use during the the woman said. ‘‘I believe that it’s some- project’s 10-year lifespan. and their families is hope,’’ said Christopher thing that can cure spinal cord injuries.’’ Thomas Scott, executive director of the As my good friend the gentleman from Flor- State Senate Health Committee Chair- Stanford Program on Stem Cells in Society. ida, Dr. WELDON, has explained, the latest woman Deborah Ortiz (D-Sacramento), an- ‘‘Without that hope, it’s very difficult to get science demonstrates the enormous potential other research backer, was philosophical yourself going.’’ of non-embryonic stem cells. I urge my col- about the campaign’s optimism. ‘‘A campaign requires a message to be driv- Joan Samuelson prefers to call it deter- leagues to vote against a bill that authorizes mination. The Napa Valley attorney founded further spending of taxpayer dollars on specu- en home,’’ she said. ‘‘You can’t raise those hopes and then say, ‘Oh by the way, it may the Parkinson’s Action Network 18 years lative research about which many Americans take us 10 or 15 years.’ That’s just the nature ago, two years after being diagnosed with have deep moral concerns. of campaigns.’’ early onset Parkinson’s disease. She now sits [From the Los Angeles Times, Dec. 3, 2006] California’s attempt to cure diseases by on the institute’s oversight board. REALITY CHECK FOR STEM CELL OPTIMISM referendum is unique. But touting dramatic ‘‘I care deeply about how urgently we pur- (By Mary Engel) cures in exchange for research dollars has be- sue the mission of Prop. 71,’’ she said. ‘‘I The meeting was almost over when Roman come ‘‘the American way’’ of doing medical wake up every day with a disorder that gets Reed steered his wheelchair to the micro- research, said Robert Blendon, professor of worse with the passage of time.’’ phone. health policy and management at the Har- To Samuelson, the campaign was about po- On the table before him sat a l49-page book vard School of Public Health. tential. The institute’s plan is about day-to- of budget charts and timetables, the first The Nixon-era ‘‘war on cancer’’ suggested day implementation. They may sound dif- concrete outline of what California’s voter- that a country that could put a man on the ferent, she said, but they are steps toward approved stem cell institute plans to accom- moon—in less than a decade—could surely the same goal. find a cure within the same time frame. Now, plish in its 10-year lifespan. ‘‘I read the realism, if you will, as a state- Blendon said, ‘‘You can’t just talk about in- ‘‘I want to thank you from the bottom of ment of the fact that this isn’t going to be vesting in research without the equivalent of my heart,’’ Reed said to the institute’s staff easy,’’ she said. ‘‘Nothing great is easy.’’ and 29–member oversight board in October. the trip to the moon.’’ What makes embryonic stem cells ‘‘I promised my son that one day I would be Such campaigns appeal to an American unique—and so full of potential—is their able to walk, stand next to him and go hold public that expresses great faith in science ability to become any type of cell in the my wife’s hand. And seeing this road map to but shows little understanding of the plod- body. cures, I know that this will come true.’’ ding nature of most scientific research. The room at Los Angeles’ Luxe Hotel thun- Blendon doesn’t see downplaying the time Some researchers envision someday trans- dered with applause for the Fremont resi- frame as dishonest as long as the research planting such cells into patients whose own dent, who broke his neck while playing col- truly holds potential. cells have been damaged by injury or disease, lege football in 1994. Proposition 71 came about in response to with the hope that the transplanted cells de- Despite the enthusiasm of Reed and his au- President Bush’s August 2001 mandate re- velop into new spinal cord or pancreas cells. dience, the book offered no promise of a cure stricting federal funding to only a handful of But scientists don’t yet understand the cues for his paralysis. human embryonic stem cell lines, prompted that trigger an undifferentiated embryonic Two years after California voters author- by moral concerns about destruction of em- stem cell to become, say, an insulin-secret- ized $3 billion in bonds to fund stem cell re- bryos during such research. When the meas- ing pancreas cell.

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