House Votes To Expand Funding for Stem Cells

WASHINGTON — The House voted to expand government-financed embryonic stem cell research Thursday, but for the second time in two years lawmakers were unable to muster enough votes to overcome a promised presidential veto.

Still, the 253-174 vote was a high watermark in the stem cell debate, drawing advocates closer to the two-thirds vote threshold needed to override President Bush's objections.

With stem cells offering hope for major health care cures, lawmakers on both sides of the issue punctuated the debate with poignant personal stories and clashed over the ethics of the science.

Embryonic stem cells hold the promise of medical breakthroughs because they have the ability to become any tissue in the body.