repigs do nothing right!

Rep. Mike Castle is asking President Barack Obama to immediately lift restrictions on the funding of embryonic stem cell research, something he pledged to do when campaigning for president.

In a Wednesday letter to Obama, Castle and five other Republican lawmakers asked him to revoke President Bush's limitations on federal funding for the research, calling a strong federal role "vitally important."

"While we have been encouraged by recent news reports that you plan to issue an executive order soon, we cannot stress enough the importance of swift action," they wrote. "After the current restrictions are lifted, we stand ready to work with you and our colleagues in Congress."

Signing the letter with Castle were Charles Dent of Pennsylvania, Mark S. Kirk of Illinois, Fred Upton of Missouri, Brian P. Bilbray of California and Judy Biggert of Illinois.

Stem cell research was a presidential campaign issue for Obama, who sparred with Sen. John McCain over it in radio advertisements. Obama's ad portrayed McCain as having opposed the research. While McCain challenged the assertion, he didn't say whether he would support the controversial research as president.

Polls show most Americans support research using embryonic stem cells, which can grow into any cell in the body and could potentially be used to treat people with cancer, Parkinson's and other diseases. Scientists wish to explore different stem cells to see what works best, but some religious groups oppose embryonic research because it destroys the days-old human embryo.

Castle has introduced legislation with Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., to expand the research and put in place an ethical framework for all stem cell research.

President Bush twice vetoed legislation supported by Castle and DeGette after issuing a 2001 directive that limited grants for conducting research on human embryos to the few dozen embryonic stem cell lines that were already being studied.