Congress moves to send stem cell bill to Bush for first veto

WASHINGTON -- Congress embarks this week on the weightiest of debates on morality and the march of science, deciding whether to use public money for embryonic stem cell research and, in turn, setting up President Bush's first veto.\nNeither the House nor Senate has demonstrated enough support for the bill to override a veto, though the House probably will try, just to give Bush a definitive victory in the showdown.\nSupporters of the research hold out faint hope that Bush, presented with new data and pressured by election-year politics, might reverse course and sign the bill.\n"This would be his first veto in six years, on something that the vast majority of the public supports," said Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa. "What would come down on him would be all the scientists, all the Nobel laureates and everyone else who supports it."\nPolls show that 70 percent of the public supports the bill, which would expand federal aid for embryonic stem cell research. The process is believed by many scientists to hold the most promise for curing diseases such as juvenile diabetes, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's that strike millions of people.\nThe bill comes before the full Senate at the same time that Republicans, with their congressional majority at stake, are trying to energize their conservative base of voters during the fall elections.\nBills to encourage stem cell research from sources other than embryos also are expected to be voted on this week.\nBut it is the Senate's stem cell bill that probably will draw the most attention -- and Bush's first veto.\nIn 2001, Bush halted federal funding of new embryonic stem cell studies, comparing them to abortion because the process of extracting the crucial stem cells destroys the days-old embryo.\nHe said at the time that such federal support for research could continue on the 78 stem cell lines then thought to exist. But in the years since, the National Institutes of Health have confirmed that a fraction of that number of lines exist and that few, if any, are viable for clinical trials.\nSupporters hope that development might change Bush's mind. But the White House, struggling for election-year credibility with its conservative base, has left no wiggle room in its public and private statements of opposition.\nRove last week said Bush was "emphatic" about his intent to veto the bill. White House spokesman Ken Lisaius said Friday the president would follow through if the bill came to him.\nThat could happen this week. Vote counters on both sides of the debate in the Senate say at least 60 votes for the bill exist -- perhaps as many as 64; that's enough to pass it. But 67 votes would be required to overturn a veto if all 100 senators are present.\nGOP Sen. Trent Lott, who said he will vote for the bill and predicted it will pass the Senate, said Sunday he believes "something could be worked out."\n"I think Congress has to go ahead and act, and then we'll take it from there," he told CNN's "Late Edition."\nThe House was 50 votes short of its two-thirds majority when it passed the bill last year, 238-194. House leaders were planning for a veto override attempt as soon as Bush vetoes it, probably before week's end.\nHouse sponsor Rep. Mike Castle, R-Del., said he expects support for the bill to grow beyond last year's tally, but would not venture whether enough will switch to override a veto.\n"A number of (House) members have told me they regret voting against it last year," Castle said.\nScientific advances, public support and appeals for passage from former first lady Nancy Reagan have given the bill unprecedented momentum.\nIn numerous behind-the-scenes phone calls to lawmakers and a few public statements, President Reagan's widow generated more votes throughout debate in both houses and inspired Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., to break a standoff with conservatives who have blocked a vote.\nShe is expected to weigh in again this week with calls to senators and perhaps a statement, said several officials with knowledge of her plans.\nOpponents of the bill are, like Bush, firm in their belief that destroying embryos for science is immoral. They say that adult stem cell research is closer to curing some diseases.\nSen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., last week withdrew his objection to the Senate debating the bill this week in response to an appeal from Frist and other senators. But he made clear he thinks the timing of the debate hurts Bush.