Senator Dianne Feinstein Contacted

Senator Dianne Feinstein is Senator from California. Upon observing her webpage and bio, I discovered her views on stem cell research. During the years of the Bush administration she was very involved with pushing to allow us to continue embryonic stem cell research. There were petitions available on her site requesting Congress to lift the ban that was put into effect in August 9, 2001. She shares very similar views with that of our blog group, so I have contacted her and asked her to review our blog and offer any feedback, criticisms, or support.

Feedback from National Institute of Health

On Thursday October 29, 2009, NIH responded to our email describing the mission of our blog and offering a link to visit. Dr. Lisa M. Kennedy, a Science Policy Analyst for the National Institute of Health wrote that she was excited to know that we had used the NIH website as a reference. She also wished us luck with the continuation of our blog and education.

Senator Tom Harkin Contacted

Iowa Senator Tom Harkin is Chairman of the Health, Labor and Pensions Committee. He was contacted and invited to observe our blog because of the similar views he has expressed towards the enhancement of stem cell research. With his support, we may be able to attract more people to observe our blog; hopefully leading to greater support for the bill as well as a better understanding of the potential impact of stem cell research on our country.

Local Congressman Contacted

Congressman Bob Goodlatte represents the 6th district of Virginia in the House of Representatives. He is a co-sponsor of this bill and represents Harrisonburg, VA and the surrounding areas. As a key stakeholder, it is important that he knows our group as well as people around the area are interested in this bill and hope for his continued support for its passing.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Encouraged to Follow

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), a key stakeholder for the H.R.877 Patient’s First Act of 2009, was invited and encouraged to visit our blog. The HHS in the U.S. government’s principal agency for protecting the health of Americans providing essential human services. The agencies within the department perform a wide variety of tasks and services, including research, public health, grants and other funding. The services that the agencies provide can have a huge impact on the enhancement of stem cell research.

White House Administration Contacted

President Obama is a public supporter of Stem Cell Research which is a drastic change from the former Bush administration. He personally encouraged both the House and Senate to change legislation on Stem Cell Research and lifted the ban on embryonic research. As a key stakeholder President Obama can influence legislation on a national level. Contacting him showed public support and hopefully encourages his position on the issue.

MD Representative Invited to Visit Blog

Representative Roscoe Bartlett of the 6th district of Maryland has been invited to visit this blog. Rep. Bartlett opposed S.5 (a bill to amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for embryonic stem cell research, which was vetoed by Pres. Bush in June, 2007) and S.30 (a bill to intensify research to derive human pluripotent stem cell lines, which was passed in April, 2007). Rep. Bartlett supports the Patients First Act of 2009 because it does not support the creation of a human embryo for research purposes nor does it support the destruction of or discarding of a human living embryo. He is one of our main links to attract the pro-life population, who may be uninformed about the stipulations of the bill and believe that the bill does involve destroying human lives.