Four states specifically approve stem-cell research within ethical guidelines, and three of them have invested huge sums of money toward that research, led by California, which passed a $3 billion research bond.

Stem-cell research is not illegal in the United States, but private funds have been hard to come by, and the best and brightest researchers have been lured to labs abroad, especially in Great Britain, China and South Korea.

"Federal inaction has created a void," Feinstein said, "and this void has been only partially filled by states and by private entities."

Feinstein and Hatch agreed that other nations could soon take the leading role in the coming medical revolution, and "we will lose the chance to set ethical guidelines, we will lose doctors to overseas research institutions, and most importantly, we will lose the chance to offer new hope to (those) who are waiting in desperation for treatments and cures," Hatch said.

"Medicine must advance hand in hand with ethics, and the legislation we introduce today will make certain that American research sets the gold standard for ethical oversight," Kennedy said in a prepared statement.

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