Governor OKs stem cell research funds

The governor's action Thursday quadruples the amount of money available in the state to begin research on stem cells, which scientists believe hold extraordinary promise to cure diseases. It also carries political benefits for Schwarzenegger, who has distanced himself from the deeply unpopular Republican president. "The governor is a longtime supporter of stem cell research," said Adam Mendelsohn, Schwarzenegger's communications director, who said there were no politics at work in the Republican governor's decision. "The governor felt that there was a risk that the industry and movement would be set back by the veto, and he wants California to be a leader in industry." Proposition 71, passed by state voters in 2004, authorized up to $3 billion over 10 years for stem cell research, but opponents have sued to block the measure. A lower-court ruling earlier this year upheld the constitutionality of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, but that decision is being appealed, and bonds cannot be sold to the general public while the litigation is pending. In the meantime, the agency's bond-financing board approved $200 million to be sold privately. Private foundations are expected to buy $50 million, and the state now will step in to buy the other $150 million. "We can no longer wait to fund this important research," Schwarzenegger said in a letter authorizing the general fund expenditure. "California is poised to lead not only this country, but all countries, on stem cell research." Bush's veto means that no federal money can be used to create new stem cell lines, which are formed from human embryos. The state money would be used to finance labs that could work on embryonic stem cells. Dr. Zach Hall, president of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, said the move will allow California to be at the forefront of the worldwide research on stem cells. "With one stroke, the governor has energized stem cell research in California," Hall said. "This is the new frontier in biomedical research, and the United States needs to be working in it. California will become a surrogate for the nation's efforts." Schwarzenegger, who is running for re-election in November, has been vocal in his disagreement with Bush on this issue. The governor sent the president a letter urging him not to veto the bill, and while he was speaking Wednesday in San Francisco, the governor noted that his father-in-law suffers from Alzheimer's disease, one of the maladies scientists hope can someday be cured through research from embryonic stem cells. More than 70 percent of Americans surveyed in public opinion polls support research into embryonic stem cells. Distancing himself from Bush, while aligning with the popular view that stem cell research should move forward, is a win-win position, said Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, a political analyst from the University of Southern California. "He's trying to come out as the good guy on this, the anti-Bush," Jeffe said. Jeffe said Schwarzenegger is trying in his re-election campaign to woo moderates and independents, two groups in California that polls show do not support the president. Schwarzenegger has had a contentious relationship with the Bush administration recently, making several requests that have not been fulfilled, including a call for a federal disaster declaration for the state's aging levee system and demands that the federal government reimburse the state for the cost of incarcerating illegal immigrants. Schwarzenegger's Democratic opponent, state Treasurer Phil Angelides, was quick to blame Schwarzenegger for Bush still being in office. "Today's action is another gubernatorial campaign smokescreen to cloud the memory of California voters that it was Arnold Schwarzenegger who campaigned for President Bush in Ohio and helped put him back into office," Angelides said in a statement. "As governor, I will be a consistent advocate for stem cell research and fight to elect a new president who shares my commitment to this life-saving research." But Angelides' opponent in the Democratic primary, Controller Steve Westly, praised the governor's move. Schwarzenegger's announcement came on the same day he appeared at two fundraisers with the president's father, former President George H.W. Bush, to generate money for the governor's campaign and the California Republican Party. "Forty-one (the former president) doesn't hurt him the way 43 (the current president) does," said Jeffe, referring to them by their place in presidential history chronologically. "Source":[ http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/07/21/BAGGDK2TEN1.DTL]

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