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Last July, despite overwhelming support from the American people and a solid majority of the Congress, President Bush vetoed the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2006. Today, the Democratic-led House and Senate are giving the President another chance to sign this bill expanding scientists' access to embryonic stem cell lines and opening the door to potential lifesaving cures for millions of Americans.

This afternoon, Speaker Pelosi signed the bill and sent it to the President:

72 percent of Americans support embryonic stem cell research. [Opinion Research Corporation, 2006]

Nancy Reagan, Former First Lady

Today, Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers and Constitution Subcommittee Chairman Jerrold Nadler sent a letter to Vice President Dick Cheney, asking him to recuse himself from any involvement in issues related to the I. Scooter Libby criminal prosecution and potential pardon.

Full letter (pdf):

June 7, 2007

The Honorable Dick Cheney

Vice President

United States of America

Eisenhower Executive Office Building

Washington, D.C. 20501

Dear Mr. Vice President:

The Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties is currently holding an oversight hearing on the Constitutional limitations on domestic surveillance. The hearing is the first in a series entitled "The Constitution in Crisis: The State of Civil Liberties in America."

Watch the hearing live >>

Louis Fisher from the American Law Division of the Library of Congress testifies:

Testimony offered yesterday before the Senate Banking Committee raised questions about whether some student lenders are using inappropriate criteria to determine the loan terms and other borrower benefits they offer to students at different colleges -- that is, whether the lenders may in some cases be "redlining". Today, Chairman George Miller of the Education and Labor Committee, sent letters to the five largest student lenders requesting information to help determine whether the lenders offer less favorable terms to students at predominately minority colleges, such as Historically Black Colleges and Universities, than they offer to students at other four-year public and private colleges. Chairman Miller sent the letters to Sallie Mae, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Citibank, and J.P. Morgan Chase.

The Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act passed the House, 247-176. Speaker Pelosi closed the debate:

Speaker Pelosi: "We've had this debate before. Bipartisan majorities in both Houses of Congress have passed similar legislation before. Yet, with his cruel veto pen, President Bush dashed the hopes of many with the healing potential of stem cell research. We are hoping for a different outcome today. Every family in America is one diagnosis, one phone call or one accident away from needing the benefits of embryonic stem cell research. We hope the President will reconsider his position."

Today, the House is debating S. 5, the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act. On January 11th, the House passed H.R. 3, the DeGette-Castle Stem Cell bill and the Senate passed S. 5 on April 11th. The provisions of S. 5 are identical to those in H.R. 3, except that S. 5 also contains provisions authorizing alternative stem cell research not included in H.R. 3.

More than 100 million Americans suffer from cancer, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, diabetes, spinal cord injuries and other debilitating diseases and disorders for which embryonic stem cell research holds great promise in finding new and better treatments and cures.

The Science Committee is currently holding a hearing on the Environmental Satellite Monitoring System, or National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS). As noted here on Monday, the Associated Press reported that "The Bush administration is drastically scaling back efforts to measure global warming from space, just as the president tries to convince the world the U.S. is ready to take the lead in reducing greenhouse gases."

Watch the hearing live >>

The Oversight and Government Reform Committee is currently holding a hearing, "Darfur and the Olympics: A Call for International Action." Subcommittee Chairman John Tierney has invited classrooms across the country (pdf) to watch the hearing. On Tuesday the House passed a resolution introduced by Rep. Barbara Lee calling on the government of the People's Republic of China to use its unique influence and economic leverage to stop genocide and violence in Darfur.

See the witness list (pdf) >>