Remarks by Speaker Sheldon Silver

Press Conference: Unveiling of Legislation Creating the New York State Institute for Stem Cell Research

Speaker’S Conference Room, Capitol, Albany, NY
Tuesday, March 1, 2005

On this dreary day, I and my colleagues in the Assembly Majority Conference are here to bring a measure of hope, hope for the future, hope for the end of the suffering caused by disability and disease; the hope that comes from knowing that this State’s world-class doctors and scientists can turn stem cell research into regenerative medicines and therapies, free of the shackles of irrational fears and personal politics.

This afternoon, I am unveiling legislation to create the New York State Institute for Stem Cell Research, Incorporated - a not-for-profit corporation that will fund and support stem cell research and activities related to regenerative medicine in order to promote the development of life-saving and life-enhancing regenerative medical treatments, therapies and cures.

Standing in support of this legislation which I am sponsoring are several members of the Assembly Majority Conference, including:

• Assembly Member Richard Gottfried, the Chair of the Committee on Health;

• Assembly Member Alexander "Pete" Grannis, the Chair of the Committee on Insurance;

• Assembly Member Amy Paulin, Chair of the Assembly Task Force on People with Disabilities;

• And Assembly Member Adele Cohen, Chair of the Legislative Commission on Science and Technology.

Joining us is New York State Deputy Comptroller Kenneth Bleiwas, who is here to discuss a report released by Comptroller Hevesi earlier today, which details the economic impact of biotechnology in New York State.

Also with us are several members of New Yorkers for Advancement of Medical Research who braved the weather to lobby their legislators in support of stem-cell research:

• Maria Mitchell, representing the Academic Medical Development Company, more commonly referred to as "AMDeC:"

• Mike DiScipio, a former Albany County Sheriff’s Department of Corrections Officer;

• Doctor Mark Noble, Professor of Biomedical Genetics at the University of Rochester Medical Center;

• Michelle DeVito of Guilderland, New York, who lives with juvenile diabetes;

• And June Walker, National President of Hadassah.

You will hear from each of them in a few moments.

They are joined by...

• Robin Elliott, the Executive Director of the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation;

• Linda Herman of Amherst, New York, who lives with Parkinson’s Disease;

• Herb Gordon, a National Volunteer Consultant for State Legislative Issues with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation;

• Mary Elizabeth Bunzel and her son, Eli, who lives with juvenile diabetes;

• And Diane Trippiani, representing the American Diabetes Association.

Thank you all for joining us today.

Under my legislation, the Institute for Stem Cell Research will:

• Make grants and loans for stem cell research, regenerative medicine and related facilities;

• Support development of regenerative therapies, from research to clinical trials;

• Establish necessary and appropriate regulatory and oversight procedures;

• And prioritize the awarding of funds so that scientific work with the greatest potential for producing therapies and cures is funded first.

The Institute would received funding under the Health Care Reform Act: $100 million for the first year, and $200 million for the second year of the HCRA cycle.

The Institute will be governed by a board consisting of nineteen members to be appointed by the Governor, the Temporary President of the Senate, the Speaker of the Assembly, the Attorney General, and the Comptroller.

This legislation also prohibits any person or entity from knowingly performing or attempting to perform human reproductive cloning. It provides that violators will be guilty of a Class D felony and subject to civil penalty of up to one million dollars.

On March 19th of 2003, a little less than two years ago - I had the honor of sharing a stage with the late, great Christopher Reeve at a conference sponsored by "AMDeC." With him at my side, I announced that the Assembly had taken up and was about to pass The Reproductive Cloning Prohibition and Research Protection Act.

On that same day, the Governor said and I quote: "I’m a great believer in the potential of biomedicine and biotechnology and the importance of research."

Yet, this State has failed to support stem-cell research in the laws of New York State.

As for the Senate, they have taken no action - not in 2003, not in 2004.

In the meantime, other governors in other states are leading the way on this cutting edge research.

California voters approved Proposition 71.

The University of Wisconsin at Madison established the Wisconsin Stem Cell Research Program and the State of Wisconsin began funding it.

Many other states have followed suit: Maryland, Illinois, Minnesota, and Florida, to name a few.

That’s great for the millions of Americans for whom stem cells could mean the end of heart disease, arthritis, cancer, Alzheimer’s Disease, juvenile diabetes, paralysis, permanent burn injuries, Tay Sachs, Lou Gehrig’s disease, and a litany of other diseases and disabilities.

Yet the great State of New York - already the biotechnology capital of the world; home to such institutions as NYU, Mount Sinai, Columbia, Rockefeller, Memorial Sloan Kettering, Weill-Cornell, the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Roswell Park in Buffalo, the University of Rochester; home to numerous Nobel Prize-winning scientists; we are falling behind.

To quote Robert Kolker in his December 2004 New York Magazine piece entitled, The California Stem Cell Gold Rush, "If New York scientists are locked out of developing profitable new drug therapies that use stem cells, the coming multi-billion-dollar stem-cell industry could be the greatest business New York never built."

We must not let this become our legacy.

Regrettably, neither government nor medical science could advance far enough or fast enough for Christopher Reeve to realize the fruits of his relentless labors, but there are millions like him who share his vision and who still have a chance to achieve their dream.

For them we must use the power of our great minds and our great facilities to end the suffering of our loved ones, and prevent the suffering of future generations.

With this Institute, we can accomplish these goals and maintain New York State’s legacy as a world-class center for biotechnology.

We call upon our colleagues in the Senate and the Governor to join us in supporting this legislation.

Together with the New Yorkers for the Advancement of Medical Research, let’s give New Yorkers the hope they have so long awaited and truly deserve.