U.S. Senate candidate Ron Johnson said he opposes federal funding for research on embryonic stem cells, both on moral grounds and because eliminating the funding would help balance the federal budget. Johnson, a Republican, told The Associated Press this week he supports research on stem cells, but only those derived from adult cells and umbilical-cord blood. Wisconsin would be more affected by the loss of federal funding than other states. A University of Wisconsin-Madison professor was the first to isolate the cells in 1998, and his work helped turn the city and surrounding communities into a center for stem-cell research. Timothy Kamp, the director of the Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Center at UW-Madison, said Wisconsin jobs could very possibly move elsewhere if federal funding came into question.
Office of Strategic Communication