August 2005

Welcome to the August edition of my Washington Report. I hope this newsletter keeps you informed about some of the important matters facing our State, our Nation, and the U.S. Senate.

In this edition, you'll find information about the following:

• Filling the Supreme Court Vacancy
• Expanding Promising Stem Cell Research
• Caring for Our Nation's Veterans
• Securing Our Energy Future

If you have any comments or questions on these or any other issues, please don't hesitate to let me know. Please send any comments you have through my website.

Best wishes,

US Senator Dianne Feinstein

Filling the Supreme Court Vacancy
This is a historic time for our country. The Senate has not voted on a Supreme Court nomination in more than a decade, and the appointment of DC Circuit Court Judge John G. Roberts Jr. is the most critical in a generation. The Supreme Court is unique in its role as the final arbiter, setting standards for all other federal courts, and it may revisit questions of law that it has already ruled upon.

Many people may not be aware of the impact of Supreme Court decisions on their daily lives. The Court's rulings, however, directly affect all of us in fundamental ways. With the freedoms and rights of all Americans at stake, the Senate and the public must fully examine and evaluate the nominee seeking to join our most supreme court.

As the only woman on the Judiciary Committee, I have a special responsibility to find out whatever I can about his views on women's rights. I also think his views on privacy, end of life issues, separation of church and state, and the Commerce Clause of the Constitution are important.

The Senate Judiciary Committee will begin hearings on Judge Roberts' nomination on September 6.

To learn more about this Supreme Court nomination read: The United States Supreme Court: The Significant Impact for All Americans, Speech by Senator Feinstein (8/24/05)

How to Judge A Judge, Op-ed by Senator Feinstein in The Sacramento Bee (7/31/05)

Statement by Senator Feinstein on the Nomination of Judge John G. Roberts Jr. to the Supreme Court (7/19/05)

Expanding Promising Stem Cell Research
Earlier this year the House of Representatives passed legislation that would allow federal funding to be used for research using stem cell lines derived under strict ethical requirements from excess in vitro fertilization embryos. Senate Majority Leader Frist recently announced his support for this legislation, which I was delighted to hear.

This legislation is needed because President Bush's policy announced on August 9, 2001 originally identified and promoted federal funding for 78 stem cell lines that already existed. Today we know that only 22 of these lines are available, but all 22 have become contaminated with mouse feeder cells and none are useable for research in humans.

I hope that when the Senate returns in September we will take up and pass the House-passed bill to help speed research into cures and treatments for more than 110 million Americans.

Congress should also pass legislation that bans human reproductive cloning once and for all. Senator Hatch and I recently introduced a bill that would make it a federal crime to clone or attempt to clone a human being and it establishes strict penalties for anyone convicted. This bill has 28 cosponsors from both sides of the aisle.

Read the latest news about efforts to expand federal funding for stem cell research: Schwarzenegger, Feinstein United to Protect California's Stem Cell Research Initiative from Threat in Washington (8/23/05)

Statement by Senator Feinstein on the 4-year Anniversary of President Bush's Embryonic Stem Cell Policy (8/8/05)

Statement by Senator Feinstein on Senator Frist's Announced Support for Stem Cell Bill (7/29/05)

Senators Feinstein, Hatch, Kennedy, Specter, and Harkin Introduce Bill to Ban Human Reproductive Cloning (7/28/05)

Caring for Our Nation's Veterans
Earlier this year the Veterans Affairs Department disclosed that there was a shortfall of more than a billion dollars in its FY 05 budget for medical care, and a projected shortfall of more than $1.6 billion in FY 06. The Senate voted unanimously to provide funding to make up the shortfall in the VA's FY 05 budget and we were also able to close the projected shortfall for FY 06.

As ranking member of the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Subcommittee, I worked with Chairman Kay Bailey Hutchison to restore funding to veterans programs cut by the Administration and to offset policy changes such as enrollment fees, increased pharmaceutical co-payments, and changes to eligibility requirements for extended care in state veterans homes.

The VA should not have to try and save money by squeezing veterans out of the system. We owe these men and women a great debt of gratitude for their efforts to protect and defend our nation. I am pleased that we will be able to fulfill our commitment to our veterans, including the largest population of veterans in the country - those living in California.

To learn more about this funding, please go to: Senate Appropriations Subcommittee Approves $82.98 Billion
for Veterans Affairs and Military Construction (7/19/05)

Senate Approves Crucial Veterans' Health Care Funding (6/29/05)

Securing Our Energy Future
This week the President signed into law comprehensive energy legislation that has been in the works for several years. While there are several good provisions, I ultimately believe that this bill is a huge missed opportunity and simply does not do enough to address the biggest challenges we face in securing our energy future.

The United States' profligate use of emissions-producing energy sources is the largest contributor to climate change, the most urgent energy-related problem that the world faces today. We must take responsibility and chart a course to deal with this problem, though the Energy Bill does nothing to address global warming.

The Energy Bill also deletes a very modest oil savings provision that would have required us to save 1 million barrels of oil per day in 2015. It does nothing to increase fuel economy standards, which is the single most important step we can take to reduce our dependence on oil. Other egregious provisions in the bill are a 7.5 billion gallon ethanol mandate, exclusive authority for FERC to site LNG terminals, an inventory of the resources off our shores, and roll backs of environmental regulations intended to protect the public. And so for these reasons, I voted against the final Energy Bill.

To learn more about Senator Feinstein's views on the Energy Bill, read: Senator Feinstein Opposes Energy Bill Conference Report (7/29/05)

Floor Speech by Senator Feinstein in Support of the McCain-Lieberman Amendment on Climate Change (6/21/05)

For more information on why the ethanol mandate is a bad idea, see: San Diego Union-Tribune op-ed "Fuel's Gold: Turning Corn Into Ethanol May Not Be Worth It" (8/3/05)

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