HARRISBURG -- House Republicans may try to kill a $254,000 state grant for the Carnegie Science Center over its controversial exhibit "Bodies."

They added their concern to others who have criticized the exhibit because the company behind it can't guarantee that the Chinese bodies came from people who agreed to participate in the exhibit after death. The exhibit used plasticized bodies and parts to help show how body organs and systems work.

"There are questions about this display and we need to discuss these problems,'' said House Republican leader Sam Smith.

The science center grant, an annual allotment, is part of House Bill 2327, which is part of the 2008-09 state budget. The bill also contains an identical grant of $254,000 for the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, and that grant might also be in danger.

Rep. Karen Beyer, R-Northampton, said the Legislature "should prohibit museums in Pennsylvania that get state money from displaying these bodies."

House Democrats, including several from Pittsburgh, criticized the Republicans, saying the science center and natural history museum are valuable and reputable institutions that do much to further education in Western Pennsylvania. Democrats said it would be wrong to deny them the state funds they need to carry out their mission.

The protest over the "Bodies" exhibit was led by Rep. Mike Fleck, R-Huntingdon, who has introduced House Bill 2299. It would set up new procedures to deal with "commercial exhibits of human remains."

For one thing, it would require officials of any Pennsylvania county where any exhibit of corpses was planned to approve the exhibit. To do that, organizers would have to provide definitive paperwork about where the bodies came from and whether the deceased persons had previously agreed to let their bodies be shown publicly.

"The county would have to decide if this [exhibit] was something they wanted to take part in,'' Mr. Fleck said.

House Appropriations Chairman Dwight Evans, D-Philadelphia, said he would help set up a meeting between legislators and Carnegie officials, perhaps next week.

The Bodies exhibit at the science center ended in early May after a seven-month run. Carnegie spokeswoman Betsy Momich said yesterday the museum has no information about a meeting with legislators and no comment at this time.

Last week, Premier Exhibitions, which staged the exhibit, acknowledged that it "cannot independently confirm that the individualized organs and body parts at the exhibition were not taken from executed prisoners."

Mr. Fleck was having trouble getting assurances from Democratic House leaders to hold a vote on House Bill 2299 before legislators leave for the summer June 30.

So Republicans decided to threaten to cancel the science center grant as leverage to ensure that the Fleck bill comes up for a vote. He was assured yesterday that it would be voted on June 24, so he withdrew a measure to kill the Carnegie grant.

But if Democratic leaders go back on their promise of a vote, the move to kill the Carnegie money could be revived, said Steve Miskin, an aide to Mr. Smith.