US REP DEGETTE THINKS STEM CELL BILL WILL PASS

DeGette

DURANGO — U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette says she has enough bipartisan support to pass an embryonic stem-cell research bill. However, it's not clear whether Congress will take up the issue when members return from Thanksgiving break. Passing the defense authorization bill, food safety reform and addressing the expiring Bush tax cuts may not allow time for other issues.

DeGette told the Durango Herald that if Congress takes up stem cells, she thinks her bill would pass.

Republican U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn of Colorado Springs, who opposes the bill, said, "There is no reason to use what many Americans consider unethical and immoral — and that is the destruction of embryos for scientific research.

In March, President Barack Obama issued an executive order easing restrictions on federal research on human embryos but a federal judge said that violated a 1996 law prohibiting the use of tax dollars in work that harms embryos. An appeals court is now considering the issue.

A similar bill in the Senate is co-sponsored by Colorado's Sen. Michael Bennet.