The Obama Administration announced that on Monday March 9 the President will sign an Executive Order lifting the restrictions on federal funding of embryonic stem cell research.  More information is available here:  www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/06/AR2009030602285.html.  With this action, President Obama will implement one of the top policy priorities of Wisconsin Stem Cell Now.  However, while a significant step towards the advancement of medical research, more work needs to be done if the full promise of stem cell research as a means of treating and curing chronic illness and disability is to be realized.  As a nation, we still need to fund the National Institutes of Health at adequate levels.  We need to adopt federal ethical guidelines to cover the full range of stem cell research that is now eligible for federal funding.  We need to remove unnecessary delays in the FDA approval process for drugs developed using stem cell lines.  So while we take a moment to savor the prospect of a presidential administration that refuses to impose ideological litmus tests on medical research, we must remain focused on the many tasks ahead.