Will Congress Allow Stem Cell Research to Bloom?
COSTELLO: Just in time -- stem cell research, a line to consider. The Republican-controlled House, the same House that threw a lifeline to Terry Schiavo, could pass a bill expanding research on human embryos, thousands of them. Live to Washington and "Time" magazine correspondent Viveca Novak. Good morning.</s>VIVECA NOVAK, "TIME" CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.</s>COSTELLO: So why this Congress and why now?</s>NOVAK: Well, that's an interesting question. You recall that President Bush used his first prime time news conference, his very first in his first term, to announce his policy on stem cells, which very much limited the amount of federal funding for stem cell research, for embryonic stem cell research. And now we have a bill moving through Congress that is Republican-backed, and it looks like it would have Republican support in both houses. It's partly because of high profile advocates like Nancy Reagan, who have come out and said, you know, we really need these stem cell lines to advance research for these horrible diseases like Alzheimer's. And it's also partly because the lines of stem cells that President Bush said were available and were sufficient for research turn out not to be as many as he said and, also, many of them are contaminated with mouse DNA. So -- and scientists are starting to move to other countries and elsewhere, where policies are less restrictive on this kind of research.</s>COSTELLO: And states are passing their own laws that allow stem cell research.</s>NOVAK: That's right.</s>COSTELLO: There are...</s>NOVAK: Especially California.</s>COSTELLO: Exactly.</s>NOVAK: Yes.</s>COSTELLO: There are stipulations attached to this bill, as to what embryos can and cannot be used.</s>NOVAK: Right. And it would be embryos left over from in vitro fertilization that were, you know, more than the people involved in creating the embryos needed. And they would have to be informed and have to sign a consent form saying that any left over embryos could be used for this purpose.</s>COSTELLO: And they can't profit in any way, I would assume.</s>NOVAK: Right. No payment. That's right.</s>COSTELLO: No payment. You can't sell your embryos.</s>NOVAK: Right. Right.</s>COSTELLO: So when will this hit the House and when might it arrive in the Senate?</s>NOVAK: Well, it...</s>COSTELLO: And will President Bush sign it? That's another thing to think of.</s>NOVAK: Well, that's the big question. It's moving along. It's really percolating along. The big question is will the president sign it? And it's something that he's getting a lot of pressure from some of the religious groups on and he is saying so far that he's going to stick to his original policy, that this bill goes against his policy. But if he vetoed it, it would be his first veto and this is a very big deal. And I think a lot of Republicans are kind of scrambling to find perhaps some kind of middle ground. But it's really not clear what that would be at this point.</s>COSTELLO: Interesting. Viveca Novak from "Time" magazine. And you can read more in this week's issue of "Time." Thanks, Viveca.</s>NOVAK: Thank you. Also in "Time," comedian Dave Chappelle says, "I'm not crazy and I'm not smoking crack." Chappelle took off to South Africa after his hit Comedy Central show was suspended. In an exclusive interview, Chappelle tells "Time": "This is kind of my spot where I can come to fill my spirit back up. Sometimes you neglect these things if you are running on a corporate schedule." Still to come on DAYBREAK, a small plane skids off an Atlantic City runway, landing in a nearby bay. And we've heard about the Pentagon's plan to close 33 bases. Well, today Donald Rumsfeld explains why to a congressional commission. We'll be right back.