Can Diana DeGette work a miracle? Denver congresswoman fights to open U.S. to federally funded embryonic stem-cell research.

• Author: Schwab, Robert
• Position: Attitude at Altitude - Interview

Colorado U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette is trying to pull off a miracle this summer.

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DeGette, a 10-year Democratic congresswoman from Denver's First Congressional District, is trying to convince President George W. Bush, in an election year, to maintain his six-year record of not vetoing a bill that comes to him from Congress, and instead open U.S. business and academic doors to embryonic stem-cell research. Bush has never used his veto power, but he has said he will veto a bill that would expand embryonic stem-cell research, primarily because it goes against Christian principles of right-to-lifers and anti-abortionists, who are a big part of his constituency.

DeGette, however, says her bill could benefit 110 million Americans with diseases like Parkinson's, diabetes and Alzheimer's. She has yet to convince the Senate to debate and vote on the bill, but she said last month she is confident that will happen before the August recess and before November elections.

After those elections and U.S. Rep. Joel Hefley's retirement from Congress this year, if DeGette wins her own re-election bid, which she is expected to do, she will be the state's senior member of its congressional delegation, not by age, but by seniority. She would be entering her sixth term in the House.

ColoradoBiz sat down to interview the congresswoman at National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver in May after she had had a brief conversation with Brian Day, one of National Jewish hospital's chief researchers at its new Center for Respiratory Bio-Defense.

Day is trying to develop super anti-oxidants to counter exposure to radiation disease, which is the kind of research the center hopes to pursue. The unit of National Jewish was established and funded with DeGette's support and a $1.825 million appropriation from the Department of Defense last year. This year the center is seeking $4.6 million in new funding.

Below is an edited interview with the increasingly powerful congresswoman who could help secure that new money for Denver-area research.

ColoradoBiz: You're making headlines in this effort to increase the nation's ability to conduct embryonic stem-cell research. Take us through what you've done and why you've taken on the issue.

DeGette: I actually started working on this issue before 2001. I'm the co-chair of the diabetes conference in Congress. Embryonic stem cells were identified as a potential source for breakthroughs in a lot of diseases in the mid-1990s, and diabetes was one of the first. Embryonic stem cells can be made into insulin-producing islet cells. So I got involved, and then I learned that stem cells were showing a lot of promise...