Call on Christians in Congress to Support the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act (H.R. 3 - SB. 5)

There is a new Congress in town.

This coming Thursday, January 11th, 2007, under Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s leadership, the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Actwill be brought to the floor of Congress once again.

Remember the terrific battle we waged last year, just to get the Stem Cell Research Act considered? When finally muscled to the floor of Congress by Republican Mike Castle and Democrat Diana DeGette, HR 810 proved a superb example of bi-partisan cooperation. It overwhelmingly passed the House and Senate-- only to be vetoed by President Bush.

Well, we're back, and this time it could be different. The same exact bill, now called House Resolution 3, and Senate Bill 5, would increase the number of federally-funded stem cell lines: all from microscopic blastocysts otherwise thrown away: turning laboratory trash into a treasure of hope for our loved ones.

Some of the folks who voted against it are gone: some are still there. Can we get enough votes to override a Presidential veto? Will greater bi-partisan support create a climate shift? This time around, we might get there. Time to make phone calls and write letters...

particularly to those who voted against it. Courtesy of Faye Armitage, below is a list of the Episcopalian, LDS (Mormon), Presbyterian, and Methodist members of Congress who voted against HR 810 last time around.

First an introduction: One of the original founders of Cure Paralysis Now Faye Armitage serves on the board of the Stem Cell Action Network. Her son Jason (now 17), was paralyzed during a soccer match when he was just 7 years old. The only movement left to Jason is the blinking of his eyes. Faye spent five years traveling with Jason and his four sisters to Cyprus, Poland, Canada and several states in the US to try different therapies, including hyperbaric oxygen, accupucture, muscle biofeedback, constraint induced therapy, FTM, IMT, etc. She came to the realization that none of these treatments offer more than minor improvements and her hopes have shifted to stem cell research. She has spent the past three years as an ardent stem cell activist and has been quoted in the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Tampa Tribune, St Petersburg Times, Orlando Sentinel, the Times Union, Folio Magazine and the Wall Street Journal.

Call to action Here are a few ways that forward-looking Christians can call Congress to support the research which may one day lead to cure for millions of good and decent folks across this planet.

One: if you belong to a church which supports stem cell research, as for instance Episcopalian, LDS (Mormon), Presbyterian, or Methodist, call the following members of Congress who are also members of your faith—and urge them to support the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act. Last time around, they all voted against it.

Leave a message: call after hours, if you like. When leaving a phone message, you might say, for example: “Like Representative _________, I am a Presbyterian, and our Presbyterian faith supports stem cell research. I hope Representative ____________ will vote yes on the Stem Cell Research Act this Thursday, because it is important to my family and my congregation. Thank you.”

If you are a constituent, be sure to mention that, and leave your phone number—they will almost certainly not call you, but the phone number verifies you are a constituent. To reinforce the message, constituents might also use the services of the Adopt a Legislator campaign of Cure Paralysis Now or fax them with the help of Stem Cell Action.

Sorted by religious affiliation, here are the legislators and their DC numbers:

Episcopalian

Jo Bonner, AL, 1-202-225-4931

Ander Crenshaw, FL, 1-202-225-2501

John Mica, FL, 1-202-225-4035

Adam Putnam, FL,  1-202-225-1252

Jack Kingston, GA, 1-202-225-5831

Dennis Rehberg, Montana, 1-202-225-3211

Michael Burgess, TX 1-202-225-7772

LDS

Jeff Flake, AZ, 1-202-225-2635

Mike Simpson, ID 1-202-225-5531

Chris Cannon, UT 1-202-225-5629

Presbyterian

Tom Tancredo, CO 1-202-225-7882

Candice Miller, MI  1-202-225-2106

Mike McIntyre, NC  1-202-225-2731

Jimmy Duncan, TN  1-202-225-5435

Mac Thornberry, TX  1-202-225-3706

Frank Wolf, VA   1-202-225-5136

Methodist

John Linder, GA   1-202-225-4272

Richard Baker, LA   1-202-225-3901

Jim McCrery, LA    1-202-225-2777

Stephen Buyer, IN   1-202-225-5037

Lee Terry, NE    1-202-225--4155

Ed Whitfield, KY    1-202-225--3115

Paul Gillmor, OH  1-202-225--6405

Dave Hobson, OH    1-202-225--4324

John Peterson, PA   1-202-225-5121

Ralph Hall, TX   1-202-225-6673

Below is a list of the Catholic legislators who voted against the Act, and who might be persuaded by a call from a member of their faith—remember, statistically American Catholics overwhelmingly support embryonic stem cell research—but all too often, legislators only hear from the conservative hierarchy.

So, if you are a Catholic, call your state representatives, saying something like:

“I am one of the vast majority of American Catholics who support embryonic stem cell research. I hope Representative ____________ will remember me and my family, and vote for the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act. Thank you.”

The following Representatives - members of the Catholic faith - might be moved by phone calls from fellow Catholics in support of embryonic stem cell research.

Arizona
AZ-1 Renzi, Rick  1-202-225-2315

California
CA-3 Lungren, Dan  1-202- 225-5716

CA-21 Nunes, Devin [phone]
CA-19 Radanovich, George [phone]

CA-40 Royce, Ed [phone]

Florida
FL-21 Diaz-Balart, Lincoln  [phone]
FL-25 Diaz-Balart, Mario  [phone]

Georgia
GA-8 Marshall, Jim   [phone]

Illinois
 IL-3 Lipinski, Dan  Phone: [phone] Toll free from IL [phone]
 IL-18 LaHood, Ray  [phone]

Iowa
 IA-5 King, Steve   [phone]

Kansas
 KS-1 Moran, Jerry  [phone]

Louisiana
LA-1 Jindal, Bobby [phone]

Michigan
MI-1 Stupak, Bart  [phone]
MI-4 Camp, Dave   [phone]
 MI-5 Kildee, Dale  [phone]
MI-9 Knollenberg, [phone]
 MI-11 McCotter, Thaddeus   [phone]

Minnesota
MN-8 Oberstar, James  [phone]

Mississippi
 MS-4 Taylor, Gene  [phone]

Missouri
 MO-9 Hulshof, Kenny  [phone]

Nebraska
 NE-1 Fortenberry, Jeff [phone]

New Jersey
NJ-2 LoBiondo, Frank  202-225-6572
NJ-4 Smith, Christopher  202-224-3121 (general switchboard)
NJ-7 Ferguson, Michael  202-225-5361

New York
NY-3 King, Peter  202-225-7896
NY-23 McHugh, John 202-225-4611
NY-25 Walsh, James 202-225-3701

North Carolina
NC-3 Jones, Walter 202-225-3415
NC-5 Foxx, Virginia 202-225-2071
NC-10 Mchenry, Patrick  202-225-2576

Ohio
OH-1 Chabot, Steven 202-225-2216
OH-8 Boehner, John 202-225-6205
OH-12 Tiberi, Patrick  202-225-5355

Oklahoma
OK-1 Sullivan, John 202-225-2211

Pennsylvania
PA-3 English, Philip 202-225-5406
 PA-17 Holden, Tim 202-225-5546
PA-18 Murphy, Tim  202-225-2301

Tennessee
TX-8 Brady, Kevin 202-225-4901
TX-10 McCaul, Michael 202-225-2401

Wisconsin
WI-1 Ryan, Paul Call 1-202-224-3121  (this is the general number. I could find no working links on Congressman Ryan's website. really.)

In addition to phone and fax numbers, there is interesting and sometime appalling information on their websites. Link through to websites from here.

Update: My appreciation to Don Reed, of StemPac, for his thinking and guidance on this issue.