Congressional Override of Expected Bush Stem Cell Veto Difficult, at Best

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http://www.truthout.org/issues_05/080105HA.shtml

 

Congressional Override of Expected Bush Stem Cell Veto Difficult, at Best

Health Central

Sunday 31 July 2005

A bill designed to ease restrictions on financing embryonic stem cell

research has enough votes to reach President Bush's desk, but it's still short

of the votes needed to override his expected veto.

That was the consensus from Senate leaders on a Sunday morning television

talk show. Even though Senate majority leader Dr. Bill Frist, R-Tenn., announced

last week that he would support a bill allowing federal funding for some stem

cell research, Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., said on the CBS program " Face the

Nation " that Senate proponents are still at least five votes short of the 67

needed to override a presidential veto.

Specter, who has Hodgkins Disease and supports easing stem cell research

funding restrictions said, " My analysis is that we have 62 votes at the present

time, and we've got about 15 more people who are thinking it over. " He predicted

the upper house may have enough votes to override the expected Bush veto when

the time comes.

However, it may be more difficult to defeat an override in the House of

Representatives with a two-thirds vote when the original bill passed the 435

member house by only 44 votes. Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., who opposes easing

the restrictions, said to Specter on the CBS program, " You don't have the votes

in the House of Representatives to overcome a presidential veto. "

 

 

 

 

 

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