I want to share with you this article by David Prentice from the Family Research Council on the recent U.S. District Court injunction that stops federal taxpayer funding of unethical human embryonic stem cell research.  In his article, he highlights the importance of noncontroversial adult stem cell research. As you may know, I have introduced a bill - the Patients First Act - which would prioritize federal government funding for ethical stem cell projects that have the greatest chance for near-term benefit for patients.

Opinion: A Stem Cell Victory for Patients
By David Prentice
(Aug. 25) -- The U.S. District Court injunction that stops federal taxpayer funding of human embryonic stem cell research should make patients happy.

The judge ruled that federal funding for embryonic stem cell research violates a current law, passed annually since the Clinton administration, prohibiting government funding for research that involves the destruction of human embryos.

He added that there is a limited amount of federal funding for stem cells, and funding embryonic stem cells competes with adult stem cells. But only adult stem cells are treating people. The good news is that this ruling should free up more funding for adult stem cell research -- which is legal, uncontroversial and already helping treat thousands of patients.

Here are just a few examples of the published scientific successes of adult stem cells:

Italian doctors used patients' own adult stem cells to grow new corneal tissue to restore sight to people blinded by chemical burns, including one patient who had been blind for 50 years.

German doctors reported in June the results of a five-year study on patients with chronic heart failure. The 191 patients treated with their own bone marrow adult stem cells showed significant improvement in heart function, with decreased death and no side effects.

Another recent Italian success involved growing new windpipes for cancer patients. Doctors used cadaver windpipes stripped of their cells, bathed the cartilage with the patients' bone marrow stem cells and then transplanted the reconstructed windpipes. The two young women were released from the hospital just weeks after their surgery, and are now in good condition.

In August, University of Minnesota scientists transplanted donor adult stem cells into children with a fatal genetic skin disease and repaired the damage. The scientists said regarding adult stem cell treatments, "Patients who otherwise would have died from their disease can often now be cured. It's a serious treatment for a serious disease."

For sickle cell disease, published medical papers note that donor adult stem cells are the "only curative therapy." Other patients have had hip repairs using their own adult stem cells, and nonhealing bone fractures have been healed. Published medical papers in journals such as the Journal of the American Medical Association and The Lancet document improvements in patients treated with adult stem cells for juvenile diabetes and multiple sclerosis.

It is adult stem cells that are treating people now, people like Laura Dominguez. A quadriplegic after a car accident, Laura was treated for spinal-cord injury with her own nasal adult stem cells, and she has regained movement and sensation in her lower body. Laura continues to work hard at her physical therapy, bluntly stating, "I'm going to walk again." You can see Laura's story and others at Stem Cell Research Facts.

Noncontroversial adult stem cells from bone marrow, umbilical cord blood and other tissues are treating thousands of patients around the globe, with an estimated 50,000 adult stem cell transplants occurring annually worldwide. For some diseases, adult stem cell transplants have become the "standard of care," meaning the treatments are so effective that they are a doctor's best choice for sick patients.

Embryonic stem cells, in contrast, are ethically controversial since obtaining them requires the destruction of human embryos. However, millions in funding has led to no patient treatments. Adult stem cells in contrast are contained throughout the body, raising no ethical concerns.

The federal government has funded much research on adult stem cells, often for bone marrow transplants. But it can do more. Bipartisan legislation called the Patients First Act (H.R. 877), sponsored by Rep. Randy Forbes, R-Va., and Rep. Dan Lipinski, D-Ill., would prioritize federal government funding for stem cell projects that have the greatest chance for near-term benefit for patients, based on the scientific and clinical evidence.

Shouldn't we put patient treatments first? After all, it's not just tax dollars that are wasted on poor science; real lives have been lost.

David Prentice is senior fellow for the Center for Human Life and Bioethics at the Family Research Council.

I thought you might be interested to see this chart from the Joint Economic Committee minority detailing a bewildering number of new government regulations, mandates, and agencies resulting from the recently passed healthcare bill.

Click the chart to view a high-resolution copy or click here for more details.

I want to share with you this article I read in the Wall Street Journal that highlights just one of the reasons I introduced a bill to prohibit the IRS from hiring, transferring, or appointing individuals for positions used to enforce government-mandated healthcare. You can read more about my bill here.

Wall Street Journal Editorial: Who Pays for ObamaCare?
An April analysis by Patrick Fleenor and Gerald Prante of the Tax Foundation reveals how right they are. ObamaCare's new "health-care funding plan" will shift some $104 billion in 2016 to Americans in the bottom half of the income distribution from those in the top half. The wealth transfer will be even larger in future years. While every income group sees a direct or indirect tax increase, everyone below the 50th income percentile comes out a net beneficiary.

AP: Judge permits US trial of 1st Guantanamo detainee
The first Guantanamo Bay detainee to be prosecuted in a civilian court was cleared for trial Tuesday by a judge who said a lengthy interrogation and detention were not grounds for dismissal because they served compelling national security interests. Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani was interrogated for two years by the CIA for important intelligence information, U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan wrote in a decision that rejected defense requests to toss out the indictment on the grounds that Ghailani was denied a speedy trial.

Washington Times: Salazar puts new ban on deep-water oil drilling
Saying oil companies still are at risk of another catastrophic spill, the Obama administration announced a new moratorium Monday on drilling in the outer continental shelf, three weeks after a judge rejected the first ban.

The Hill: President's recess appointment has reignited the debate over healthcare
President Barack Obama's recess appointment of Donald Berwick to lead Medicare was intended to avoid another high-profile congressional fight over healthcare reform. Instead, it’s renewed — at least temporarily — the well-worn partisan debate over the government's role in medicine.

American Chronicle: Navy Shipbuilding: Numbers Just Don't Add Up
If you looked at the U.S. Navy's recently released annual report for its longterm goals for ship construction and how its aligns with its fleet size requirements, you are probably scratching your head. Why? Well, put simply, the Report to Congress on Annual Long-Range Plan for Construction of Naval Vessels for FY 2011 outlines a larger required fleet size - 323 ships - as opposed to 313 in the three previous years annual reports, but reduces the number of ships that it will be purchasing over the next 30 years. The numbers just don't add up.

Washington Post: Federal Reserve weighs steps to offset slowdown in economic recovery
Federal Reserve officials, increasingly concerned over signs the economic recovery is faltering, are considering new steps to bolster growth.

I frequently tell people that Virginia’s Fourth District is home to some of the most beautiful, welcoming, and efficient communities in our nation. Some might say that I, having grown up and raised my family in the Fourth District, am a bit biased. But others are agreeing that it is true.

Chesapeake and Suffolk have both been named as some of the best communities in the nation as a part of Money Magazine's 2010 Top 100 Best Places to Live. The recognition was given based on housing affordability, median income, school quality, arts and leisure, safety, health care, diversity, the local economy and commuting time.

In addition, Chesterfield County was recognized with a 2010 Digital County award from the Center for Digital Government for their use of cutting-edge technology to run a more efficient government.

It's a proud day to be a representative of such a fine district as Virginia’s Fourth. If you haven’t already, check out the photo gallery on my website that highlights communities across the Fourth District.