US Senate Votes to Lift Ban on Federal Funding of Stem Cell Research

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美参议院投票解除限制用联邦资金进行干细胞研究禁令 (US Senate Votes to Lift Ban on Federal Funding of Stem Cell Research)
The U.S. Senate has voted to lift a key restriction by President Bush on federal funding of embryonic stem cell research.

Lawmakers passed the legislation Wednesday in a 63-to-34 vote. But the tally fell short of the two-thirds majority needed to override a presidential veto.

President Bush used the first veto of his presidency last year on similar stem cell legislation. White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said Mr. Bush will also veto this latest bill because it crosses what the president has called \"a moral line.\"

In a statement after the vote, President Bush said federal funds should not be used to \"destroy, harm or create living human embryos\" for research.

Democratic Senator Tom Harkin, the chief sponsor of the bill, urged Mr. Bush to reconsider his veto threat. Harkin said the bill would allow scientists to find cures for devastating illnesses.