The Senate Health and Human Services Committee today heard Senate Bill 155 which would mandate that every 11 year old girl in the state be vaccinated against cervical cancer caused by the human papilloman virus (HPV), a sexually transmitted disease, before being allowed to enter the sixth grade.

Cervical cancer is a serious health problem, and the vaccine released last year by Merck is unquestionably an important medical advance.  I appreciate the sponsor’s interest in making this vaccine more widely available, but I think it is a mistake to mandate it for school attendance.  

State law already allows the Department of Human Resources to mandate vaccines for school attendance.  The Department requires vaccination against a number of highly contagious, usually airborne, diseases.  HPV is not airborne and only causes cervical cancer when transmitted by a certain type of sexual activity.  Most eleven year olds, thankfully, are not having this type of sex. 

The HPV vaccine, released just nine months ago, consists of three shots and costs approximately $360.  It is effective for about five years.  Should Senate Bill 155 pass, it will be the first vaccine specifically mandated by state law.   Passage would be an open invitation for every vaccine manufacturer to begin a lobbying effort to mandate the use of its latest vaccine.

I believe the decision to vaccinate against HPV should be made by parents in consultation with their daughter’s doctor.  I jokingly told the committtee that my 5 year old daughter will not require the vaccine for another 30 years.  That is obviously an overstatement, but I am pretty sure she will not need it when she is 11.

The bill unfortunately passed out of committee.  I voted no, along with Senator John Wiles and Senator Johnny Grant.  Although I did not know it at the time of my vote, the chairman of the Center for Disease Control’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices had earlier in the day voiced opposition to mandatory HPV vaccination laws.

1 Comment »

The Savannah Morning News wrote a very strong editorial endorsing Senate Bill 148, the Saving the Cure Act.

Dubbed the “Saving the Cure Act,” the legislation notes that stem cell research in general has been hampered by the ethical controversy over embryonic stem cells which are presently derived in a process resulting in the destruction of the human embryo.

However, the umbilical cord, placenta and amniotic fluid are rich in stem cells which may be used for scientific research and medical treatment without destroying human life at any stage of development.

Bill sponsor David Shafer, R-Duluth, further points out that this non-controversial source of stem cells has already resulted in treatments for anemia, leukemia, lymphoma and sickle cell disease.

These post-natal stem cells are also the focus of clinical trials on treatments for multiple sclerosis, Crohn´s disease, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and spinal cord injury.

Further study indicates possible uses for cord blood stem cells in diseases ranging from corneal degeneration, to heart disease, stroke and Parkinson´s disease.

These are debilitating, painful diseases, but there is hope for a cure through stem cells, provided sufficient stem cell lines for study.

Doctors express a high degree of confidence when it comes to stem cell potential.

“The use of umbilical cord blood stem cells in the treatment of disease is one of the most prominent advancements in medicine today,” said Dr. Roger Markwald, professor of cell biology at the Medical University of South Carolina. “Developments in this field will revolutionize medicine and disease treatment.”

Currently a scarce commodity, a push for stem cell donation would make more of the material available to today’s patients, and to more researchers, increasing the chances of a future breakthrough.

No Comments »

Senate Bill 148, the Saving the Cure Act, was heard today by the Senate Science and Technology Committee.  The committee heard testimony and public comments, then voted to give the bill a bipartisan “do pass” recommendation. 

Dr. David Hess, a respected medical doctor, clinical researcher and stem cell scientist who serves as Chairman of the Department of Neurology at the Medical College of Georgia, briefed the committee on adult stem cell research and spoke in favor of the bill.   So did a number of others, including Dr. Meg Nichols, a family physician from Macon and the mother of a child with disabilities.  A statement of support from the Georgia Medical Osteopathic Association was read into the record.

Conservative groups also expressed support for the bill, including Georgia Right To Life, the Pro-Life Office of the Archdiocese of Atlanta, Americans United for Life, and the Georgia Christian Alliance.  They all said the bill advanced science in a way that was not morally objectionable.

There was a dissenting voice.  Charles Craig of the Georgia Biomedical Partnership showed up to oppose the bill, saying that it should be amended to include embryo destructive research or defeated altogether.  Craig began his remarks with the bold statement that he spoke on behalf of his many members, but when confronted with emails and letters from his own members supporting the bill, he admitted that he had not actually consulted his members in preparing his statement.  In fact, he told us that he knew his members were sharply divided on the question, begging the question as to why he would hold himself out as representing them all.  It was a curious performance.

Of course, including embryo destructive research, over which there is enormous ethical controversy, is a poison pill that would kill the bill.  A bipartisan majority of the Senate Science and Technology rejected Craig’s suggestions and voted to advance the cure.

The bill now goes to the Senate Rules Committee.

No Comments »

Senate Bill 12, the Zero Based Budgeting Act, unanimously passed out of the Senate Appropriations Committee earlier today.  The bill was modified in committee to require that zero based budgeting be applied to at least 1/4 of the budget each year.  The original version required zero based budgeting of the entire budget once every four years.

I appreciate the leadership of Senate Appropriations Chairman Jack Hill, who helped pioneer our current system of ”program based budgeting” and has been a strong advocate of zero based budgeting as the next logical step.  I am also thankful for the grass roots support of Americans for Prosperity and the Republican Liberty Caucus, both of whom have endorsed Senate Bill 12.

No Comments »

The Atlanta Journal Constitution recently reported on Senate Resolution 247 expressing “profound regret” over Georgia’s role in the eugenics movement.

This pseudoscience, a social adaptation of Darwinian evolutionary theory, advocated the elimination of genetic disease through selective breeding.  Eugenics laws, which included provisions for the forced sterilization of the genetically undesirable, were advanced by the “progressives” of the day — scientists, academicians, politicians and newspaper editors — often over moral or religious objections that were dismissed as old fashioned.  Governor Eugene Talmadge vetoed Georgia’s first eugenics law in 1935, but his successor, Governor E.D. Rivers (the Little New Dealer), promptly signed one into law after taking office in 1937.  He was hailed by The Atlanta Constitution for his far sightedness.

The scientists who advanced eugenics have now largely been discredited, but whether they were right or wrong on the science is not the issue.  As Senate Resolution 247 puts it, eugenics devalued  the sanctity of human life, placed claimed scientific benefit over basic human dignity and denied the God given rights recognized by our Founding Fathers.  That is reason for regret.

I referenced eugenics over a year ago in a guest editorial for The Atlanta Journal Constitution.  Human history is a chronicle of the same mistakes being made over and again, generation after generation.  We are just as vulnerable to misjudgment as our grandparents and great grandparents.  It is hubris to believe otherwise.

No Comments »

Senate Resolution 5, the Taxpayers Dividend Act, was reported out of the Senate Finance Committee today with a unanimous “do pass” recommendation.

This constitutional amendment, long advocated by Republicans when were in the minority, eliminates the supplemental budget as a tool of pork barrel spending.  It provides that any budgetary surplus be spent to increase reserves, pay down debt or refund taxes (the “dividend”).  Other than the mid-year adjustment in the school enrollment formula or appropriations involving federal funds or other non tax revenue, any new spending in the supplemental budget would require a 2/3 vote of both houses of the General Assembly.

The provisions of Senate Resolution 5 had been incorporated into Senate Resolution 20, the Taxpayer Protection Act, a constitutional amendment sponsored by Senator Chip Rogers.  I cosponsored and strongly supported the more comprehensive Senate Resolution 20, but it fell short of the 2/3 vote required to pass a constitutional amendment.  Senator Rogers and I are hopeful that Senate Resolution 5 will pass during this session, and the unanimous vote today is a good sign.

Americans for Prosperity has endorsed the Taxpayer Dividend Act as one of its top priorities for 2007, and I am grateful for the support.

No Comments »

Senator Cecil Staton, the Chairman of the Science and Technology Committee, held a very informative hearing this afternoon on the state of stem cell research. It was a prelude to our meeting this Thursday afternoon when we will formally take up Senate Bill 148, the Saving the Cure Act.

We heard today from Dr. Rob Matheny, a medical doctor and heart surgeon associated with St. Joseph’s Hospital. Dr. Matheny has helped pioneer technology that heals damaged heart tissue through the use of the body’s own stem cells. He gave an absolutely fascinating presentation.

Dr. Matheny shared with us promising research suggesting that “adult stem cells” have greater “plasticity” than originally believed and can be coaxed into becoming virtually every type of tissue. He also discussed the difficulties encountered in embryonic stem cell research, specifically issues involving the rejection of donated embryonic cells and the danger of cancerous mutation. Dr. Matheny told the committee that in recent years that “there’s been a real move away from embryonic stem cells,” and for good reason. All of the medical advances involving stem cells have been made with nonembryonic cells.

Dr. Matheny’s presentation differed considerably from the lecture given earlier this month by Dr. Steve Stice, a noted animal husbandry expert affiliated with the University of Georgia’s animal and dairy science department. Stice, who has cloned both cows and pigs while at the University, is now involved in human embryonic stem cell research. In responding to questions from committee members, Stice seemed unaware of recent medical developments involving human stem cells, perhaps because human medicine is outside his immediate area of expertise.

In any event, I am looking forward to presenting Senate Bill 148 on Thursday afternoon. I do not believe that science and ethics are incompatible. I am convinced that Georgia can lead the way in both.

No Comments »

The 2007 State Convention of the Georgia Republican Party will be held at the Gwinnett Civic Center in my hometown of Duluth on Friday, May 18 and Saturday, May 19.  At the top of the agenda will be the election of a new State Chairman.  I am supporting Sue Everhart.

I have known Sue since the early 1990s when I served as executive director of the Georgia Republican Party.  Her volunteerism is legendary.  Sue has been a stalwart backer of our party, candidates and cause.  She has done a tremendous job as First Vice Chairman, and I know that she will make an outstanding State Chairman.

The convention process is open to all registered voters “in accord with the principles of the Republican Party.”  Republican National Committeewoman Linda Herren has prepared this helpful chart outlining the steps necessary to become a delegate to the State Convention.  If you are at all interested in the Republican Party, I would encourage you to participate. 

For those living in counties with more than 80,000 residents, the convention process begins this Saturday, February 24, at a precinct mass meeting near you.  For more information, visit the Georgia Republican Party website at www.gagop.org.

No Comments »

We spend over 60% of the state budget on education.  Low income health care is a distant second, followed by prisons and then roads.  Here is a breakdown:

• 39% on K-12 education (mostly teacher salaries)
• 15% on low income health care (Medicaid, Peachcare)
• 12% on colleges and technical schools (almost all to the Board of Regents)
• 10% on law enforcement (mostly for prisons but also courts, juvenile justice, State Patrol and GBI)
• 5% on bond payments for construction of schools, colleges, and prisons
• 4% on transportation
• 3% on HOPE scholarships
• 2% on Pre-K vouchers
• Remaining 10% on everything else

My email inbox is full of suggestions about spending more money but very few about spending less.  What do you think?  Is this how the “pie” should be divided?  Does our spending reflect what should be our priorities?  Let me know your thoughts.

[UPDATE]  The same question is being discussed at Peach Pundit.

5 Comments »

Today we buried a great man, Congressman Charlie Norwood, who passed away earlier this week after a long and valiant struggle against lung disease.  I first met Charlie in 1993, when I was executive director of the Georgia Republican Party and he was beginning his first campaign for Congress.  He was a fierce campaigner.  Paraphrasing my good friend Chuck Eaton, “Charlie could give a better speech with one bad lung than most with two good ones.”  He served with distinction in Congress, and he will be missed.

The Senate and House chose to honor Charlie in different ways.  The House convened, for what will count as the 21st day of the Legislative Session, to hear speeches from members who knew him.  The Senate honored Charlie’s memory by not meeting at all.

Most afternoon committee meetings were cancelled because of the funeral, but committee work continued through the morning.  The Health and Human Services Committee met to hear Senate Bill 66, sponsored by Senator Nancy Schaefer.  This bill would give a woman considering an abortion the opportunity to view a sonogram.  The procedure itself is noninvasive, painless and risk free, but to hear the Democrats talk about it, it is worse than the actual abortion. 

When it comes to health care, I generally believe that partients should have more information, not less.  The pregnant woman can decline to view the sonogram, if she wishes, but she should have that option.  I voted for the bill, and it passed out of committee on a party line vote.

The Senate will reconvene next Tuesday, February 20, for the 22nd day of the session.  We will begin at 10:00 a.m., and as always, you can watch our proceedings live at the Georgia General Assembly website.

No Comments »