Hello, this is Tom Harkin. I'm here, this morning, to talk with you about Bush's veto of my bill to lift his restrictions on embryonic stem cell research. We just cannot roll over and accept this outrageous decision. It's time to get mobilized, organized, and energized -- and to
fight back! So I am helping to put together a nationwide, grassroots effort to elect Senators and Representatives this November who will advance life-saving stem cell research and overturn the President's veto in the next Congress.
This is my first time posting to Daily Kos. I have set aside time later on today to be around to answer some of your questions and comments. I hope to hear from you.
Embryonic stem cell research is the most exciting and promising field of biomedical research today -- bar none. It holds tremendous promise for one day helping to cure
people with juvenile diabetes, Alzheimer's, ALS, cancer, spinal cord injuries, and other conditions. It's no wonder why this research is supported by more than 70% of Americans. Leading the way on legislation for disability rights (the Americans with Disabilities Act), improving the overall health and wellness of American citizens, and searching for cures to disease have been my main concerns in Congress for the last 31 years. Along with Sen. Arlen Specter of PA, I led the effort in the Senate to pass HR 810, the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act.
For over a year since the House passed HR 810, I kept the pressure on Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist to keep his promise and bring the bill to the floor of the Senate for an up or down vote. And, last week, it passed with strong, bipartisan support. For one short day, millions of suffering Americans had HOPE. But, the next day, George W. Bush snuffed out that hope by killing the bill.
Am I angry about this? You bet I am. I have too many friends and loved ones who are desperate for this research to go forward. That's why, immediately after the bill passed, I reached out to my friends and supporters who have signed up for my email updates and urged them to sign a petition asking President Bush to reconsider his veto threat and to sign HR 810 into law. I faxed over 2,000 signatures to the White House. But our appeals were ignored -- just as Bush refused to meet with Republican supporters of the bill. And less than 24 hours after HR 810's passage in the Senate, Bush used the first veto of his presidency to defeat the bill for the rest of this Congress. Well, Bush has spoken -- and now it's our turn. It's time to fight back.
In the short time since Bush's veto, a lot has happened, and the response of the Daily Kos community on this issue has been heartening. I understand that my floor speech after the veto was immediately requested by Kossacks -- even before my staff had a chance to post it on my Senate website. I read one diary posted here last week that got me thinking that I should come on here, too, to see what we can do together. I sent a personal e-mail to each of my supporters to ask them to forward an open letter to folks who want to do more to support stem cell research. I have reached out to my friends in Congress. In case you missed it, you can also hear what I said on The Ed Schultz Show on 6/20 to reach progressive listeners with my plan to build a grassroots coalition. And today I have come to Daily Kos for the first time to talk directly with all of you.
So I ask you now to join with me. There is a tremendous anger and frustration growing in America and people are unhappy with the direction our country is heading. That's why I am helping to build a strong, nationwide grassroots coalition that will pledge to support candidates and elect a Congress that can overturn Bush's veto and reign in this wayward president. Help me impose some adult supervision on this administration in November. We have a historic opportunity to restore hope in this country, so let's come together and make a difference!
TomHarkin.com