House Bills - 109th Congress

H.R. 5526—The Alternative Pluripotent Stem Cell Therapies Enhancement Act

On June 6, 2006, Representative Roscoe Bartlett (R-MD), with cosponsor Representative Phil Gingrey (R-GA) introduced H.R. 5526, the Alternative Pluripotent Stem Cell Therapies Enhancement Act. The bill would require NIH to fund peer-reviewed research to develop techniques for the isolation and production of pluripotent stem cells, without deriving such cells from human embryos. The bill would also require the Secretary, in consultation with the Director of NIH, to issue guidelines within 90 days of the bill's enactment that would outline and prioritize such research. In the bill, the term "human embryo" has the meaning given in the applicable appropriations act. The applicable appropriations act is defined as the appropriations act providing funding for HHS in the fiscal year the research is conducted or supported. If there were no definition in that year's appropriation act, then the applicable appropriations act would be the act of the previous fiscal year. H.R. 5526 is a companion, or identical version, of S. 2754, legislation introduced by Senators Rick Santorum (R-PA) and Arlen Specter (R-PA) on May 5.