September 22, 2005
The executive committee of the Wisconsin Technology Council, meeting Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2005, resolved to the following:
WHEREAS, the Wisconsin Technology Council was created in 1999 to serve as the non-profit, non-partisan science and technology adviser to the Governor and the Legislature, and;
WHEREAS, the Tech Council has consistently encouraged: high-tech research and technology transfer, private investment opportunities, and mechanisms to support start-up businesses in Wisconsin, and;
WHEREAS, the Tech Council believes Wisconsin can become a national and world leader in biotechnology research and in the development of new tests, therapies and drugs that emerge from that research, and;
WHEREAS, the Tech Council in 2001 went on record as opposing restrictions on research beyond existing national standards that may place Wisconsin at a competitive disadvantage, and;
WHEREAS, certain measures introduced in the Wisconsin Legislature may restrict research in ways that could exceed existing national standards and place Wisconsin at a competitive disadvantage, particularly in the field of human embryonic stem cell research, and;
WHEREAS, stem cell research holds great potential for better understanding how the human body works; for enhancing the safety, speed and efficacy of drug discovery; and for developing treatments and therapies for heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, cancer, neurological disorders, spinal disorders and more, and;
WHEREAS, restrictions beyond existing national standards on human embryonic stem cell research or therapeutic cloning would harm Wisconsin’s status as a pioneer and leader in developing or perpetuating stem cell research, and;
WHEREAS, the University of Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation have conducted stem cell research in accordance with guidelines set by the President of the United States in 2001, and;
WHEREAS, the University of Wisconsin and WARF have collectively developed nationally recognized ethical standards and research procedures that have served as a model for the National Academy of Science, and;
WHEREAS, the private, non-profit WARF was among the recipients of the 2005 National Medal of Technology, an annual award conferred by the President of the United States that recognizes significant and lasting contributions to the country’s economic, environmental and social well-being through the development and commercialization of technology, and;
WHEREAS, restrictions beyond existing national standards on human embryonic stem cell research and other scientific research could put Wisconsin in an unfavorable light in the eyes of the national and international investment community, a perception that would run counter to recent successful efforts by the Legislature (such as Act 255) to attract investment dollars, and;
WHEREAS, restrictions beyond existing national standards on human embryonic stem cell research or other types of scientific research would send a message to the nation and the world that Wisconsin does not welcome biotechnology businesses or investors, and;
WHEREAS, restrictions beyond existing national standards on human embryonic stem cell research and other types of scientific research would hand a competitive advantage to states and nations that are already investing in such research at a higher rate than Wisconsin, and;
WHEREAS, restrictions beyond existing national standards on human embryonic stem cell research would make it difficult to retain and attract world-class researchers to Wisconsin’s research institutions, and;
WHEREAS, restrictions beyond existing national standards on human embryonic stem cell research and therapeutic cloning would not stop such research in general, but merely redirect it to other states and nations, and;
WHEREAS, the increasingly interdisciplinary nature of scientific research means restraints aimed at a specific type of research are likely to prove limiting and even damaging to other disciplines as well, therefore;
BE IT RESOLVED that the Executive Committee of the Tech Council urges our state policy-makers to reflect upon safeguards already in place and to refrain from establishing legislative or administrative constraints on scientific research that go beyond existing national standards.
Respectfully submitted by:
Mark Bugher, chairman Tom Still, president
Wisconsin Technology Council Wisconsin Technology Council
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