California politicians condemn Bush veto of stem cell bill

By Ari Burack, Bay City News Service

July 20, 2006

Democratic leaders in Congress, as well as Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, on Wednesday decried President Bush's move to use the first veto of his presidency to block a bill that would provide federal funding for embryonic stem cell research.

The Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act was approved by both the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives, but not by a large enough margin to overturn the president's veto.

Issuing a stern rebuke of the veto, U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-CA, delivered a statement on Wednesday saying the president's decision "dealt a crushing blow to millions of Americans suffering from Parkinson's, diabetes, cancer, and other illnesses that could one day be cured.''

Gov. Schwarzenegger, who also supported the stem cell bill, said in a speech in San Francisco on Wednesday that he wrote the president asking him not to veto the bill.

"I want future generations to benefit from the research and this is why it's so important we move forward with the research,'' he said.

U.S. Rep. George Miller, D-CA, issued a statement criticizing the veto as a "cynical and dangerous'' move influenced by right-wing conservatives.

"Despite the promise that new research holds for people suffering from paralysis, Parkinson's, AIDS, and many other debilitating conditions, the extreme right wing and President Bush are blocking the path to possible cures for millions of Americans,'' he said.

Miller contended that the president used the veto as a political tool "to rally his base before an election.''

U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-CA, an original co-sponsor of the legislation, argued that the president's ethical concerns about stem cell research are misplaced, citing "rigorous controls and ethical guidelines'' that would be provided under the bill by the National Institutes of Health.

"Science and ethics can and indeed should be joined, and that's exactly what this bill does,'' Eshoo declared.

Sen. Feinstein vowed to continue to push for support of the research. "The need for stem cell research will not go away,'' she said. "We will continue to fight the fight.''

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