Senate Republican leader Bill Frist, in a break with President Bush, has decided to support expanded federal funds for stem-cell research.
Frist, a heart-lung transplant surgeon who previously declined to back expanding financing, was expected to announce his decision Friday in a speech before the Senate.
The move by the Tennessee Republican could push the issue closer to passage and force a confrontation with the White House, which is threatening to veto the measure, The New York Times said. The measure has passed the House.
In his prepared Friday speech, Frist voices his support despite reservations about altering Bush's 4-year-old policy, which placed strict limits on taxpayer stem cell financing.
"While human embryonic stem-cell research is still at a very early stage, the limitations put in place in 2001 will, over time, slow our ability to bring potential new treatments for certain diseases," Frist says. "Therefore, I believe the president's policy should be modified."
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