Bush passes on meeting with DeGette

M.E. Sprengelmeyer, Rocky Mountain News

Published July 11, 2006 at midnight

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WASHINGTON — President Bush has taken a pass on meeting with Rep. Diana DeGette before a looming veto showdown over her bill expanding federally-funded embryonic stem cell research.

DeGette, D-Denver, and Rep. Mike Castle, R-Del., requested a White House meeting in hopes of persuading him to back down from a long-standing veto threat and support their legislation, which would enact ethical guidelines and then expand the number of stem-cell lines available for federal research.

The DeGette-Castle bill passed the U.S. House of Representatives last year, and it is expected to be debated next week in the Senate, where passage appears likely.

In a letter dated July 7 and received today, a White House scheduler wrote DeGette: "Although the President would appreciate meeting with you, regrettably, we are unable to accommodate your request. Thank you for understanding. The President sends his best wishes."

Despite the polite wording, DeGette is "outraged" at not being able to make the case for the legislation directly to Bush, spokesman Brandon MacGillis said today.

"She's outraged that the president cannot find the time to meet with the two-lead sponsors of this bill to even discuss stem-cell research," MacGillis said.

Since taking office in 2001, Bush has not vetoed a single piece of legislation, but he has vowed to do so to block the DeGette-Castle bill, which faces fierce opposition from anti-abortion groups that say experimenting on leftover embryos from fertility clinics amounts to the destruction of human life.

Backers of embryonic stem-cell research have criticized Bush for imposing limits on the number of stem-cell lines available for research, saying it is holding back hopes of finding cures for diseases like diabetes and multiple sclerosis.

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