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Bush Calls For Medical Moonshot
Supports increased funding and tax credits for medical research...

I believe research into the causes and cures of diseases should be a priority in our country. And, that is why I have proposed a permanent Research and Development tax credit to encourage companies to continue research into life-saving treatments.

I understand that medical science and research have led to cures and treatments to many diseases once considered a death sentence. I have proposed a bold medical moonshot that would double funding to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) by 2003. Overall, I would increase funding to NIH by $67 billion over the next ten years. I believe that with this new commitment to medical discoveries, researchers will be able to find cures and more effective treatments for cancer, Parkinson's disease, congestive heart failure, and arthritis.

We have the technology and the mission to find these cures, I want to make sure that the resources are available. I oppose federal funding for stem-cell research that involves destroying living human embryos. However, I do support innovative medical research on life-threatening and debilitating diseases, including promising research on stem cells from adult tissue, which does not necessitate destroying human embryos.

If elected president I would convene a panel of top scientists, lawyers and ethicists to discuss the ethical questions that will arise from the mapping of the human genome. I worry about cloning. I worry about people taking the place of God. There are going to be some very thorny issues ahead.