Replies

This is more frustrating than I can express. I hope it will be clear if you read it slowly.

This is how the federal government works. Every agency of the different cabinet departments gets a spending budget. In this case HHS earmarks a certain budget for NIH. At the time the budget is done, it specifies how much money is available for what kind of project. President Bush could have told Secretary Thompson, that he will not allocate any money for embryonic stem-cell research if the cells come from aborted tissues. Under this fictitous law, a President cannot cut off funding, but it does not say that a President must fund. If this kind of funding has been going on for years, then there is no point of this Sunday front page article. Obviously, this is something new, which the President could have avoided during the budget process.

If the President was really serious about this issue, he could have gone to the local circuit court and ask for an injunction. He didn't, and that proves that he is indifferent in this matter.

Under this fictitous law, a President cannot cut off funding, but it does not say that a President must fund.

That's an interesting take on it. I wonder what would have happened if the President decided to force the issue.

Perhaps you should read #275. It's not clear to me that the President could have stopped the funding without vetoing the entire budget, if then.

From reading the article, it appears to me that the grant was given by the NIH, which was still headed by a Clinton appointee since President Bush's appointee was not approved by the Senate until May 2 of this year. It also appears to me that the President was not notified of the grant until after it had been approved.

It looks as though this is something Congress needs to change.

President Bush could have told Secretary Thompson, that he will not allocate any money for embryonic stem-cell research if the cells come from aborted tissues. Under this fictitous law, a President cannot cut off funding, but it does not say that a President must fund.

The funding for this does not come from the presidents discretionary HHS budget.