For more than a decade Hadassah and other groups have been pushing hard for such legislation - a Jewish issue, they say, because of studies showing a greater susceptibility to certain diseases based on genetic factors. And proponents argued that fear of discrimination may keep many patients from seeking potentially life saving testing and from participating in important clinical trials dealing with diseases with a genetic component.

The measure would bar insurance companies from denying coverage or raising premiums on the basis of information gleaned from genetic testing. The measure would also bar employers from using the results of such tests in deciding who to hire and fire.

Why the long delay?

For years, Republican leaders in Congress kept it bottled up because of objections from insurance companies, business groups and some anti-abortion activists who feared it would lead to an increase in abortions.

More recently, it was held up by Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), a doctor and one of the most conservative lawmakers on Capitol Hill. 

All that is history now; President Bush has indicated he will sign the bill.

Maybe now Congress will get serious about the Workplace Religious Freedom Act (WRFA), another bill championed by Jewish groups that has languished for years.