Democrats Will Vote To................

• Raise the federal minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 an hour.
• Curb lobbyists' influence by banning meals and gifts to lawmakers and requiring more disclosure and oversight.
• Repeal subsidies for the oil industry.
• Cut college-loan interest rates in half.
• Reduce prescription-drug prices for seniors by requiring Medicare to negotiate rates with pharmaceutical companies.
• Pass another bill that allows expanded federal funding for embryonic stem-cell research, betting on better prospects for an override if the president vetoes it again.
• Implement unfulfilled recommendations of the Sept. 11 commission and beef up port security.

Read more in the Sun Herald.

Medical Advances Outside the US

While some umbilical cord stem cell treatments are available in the United States with special permission from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Aldrich said he opted to go to China because spinal cord treatments are not yet available here. The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis is doing research on embryonic stem cells in animals, but is not ready to try the treatments in humans. Slowed by political opposition, embryonic stem cell research is limited to a small number of cell lines that qualify for federal research dollars. Private companies have raised more than $440 million to advance their work outside the confines of federal funding, but for the most part are still in the early stages of laboratory work and animal experiments.

It's a pity that political opposition is denying Americans medical care that is available in other parts of the world. Anyone choosing treatment outside the US should be aware that costs can be high and are not covered by insurance. More information can be found at The Genetics Policy Institute and Stem Cell Information.