I 
112TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1897 
To amend the Public Health Service Act to require a Federal commitment 
to Alzheimer’s disease research to advance breakthrough treatments for 
people living with Alzheimer’s disease. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 13, 2011 
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey (for himself, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. BURGESS, and Mr. 
PLATTS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To amend the Public Health Service Act to require a Federal 
commitment to Alzheimer’s disease research to advance 
breakthrough treatments for people living with Alz-
heimer’s disease. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Alzheimer’s Break-
through Act of 2011’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress makes the following findings: 
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(1) Alzheimer’s disease is a disorder that de-
stroys cells in the brain. The disease is the leading 
cause of dementia, a condition that involves gradual 
memory loss, decline in the ability to perform rou-
tine tasks, disorientation, difficulty in learning, loss 
of language skills, impairment of judgment, and per-
sonality changes. As the disease progresses, people 
with Alzheimer’s disease become unable to care for 
themselves. The loss of brain cells eventually leads 
to the failure of other systems in the body. 
(2) Alzheimer’s disease is the sixth leading 
cause of death in the United States and remains the 
only one of the top ten causes of death without an 
identified way to prevent, cure, or slow its progres-
sion. 
(3) An estimated 5.4 million Americans have 
Alzheimer’s disease. With the aging of the baby 
boomers, the number of Americans with Alzheimer’s 
disease will likely reach 13.5 million in 2050—and 
could be as high as 16 million. 
(4) An individual will live with the increasingly 
devastating, debilitating, and destructive effects of 
Alzheimer’s disease for an average of 4 to 8 years 
after diagnosis, and some live as long as 20 years. 
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(5) Alzheimer’s disease does not just affect 
those with the disease but takes an emotional, finan-
cial, and physical toll on caregivers. In 2010, nearly 
15 million Americans provided 17 billion hours of 
unpaid care to family members and friends with Alz-
heimer’s disease and other dementias at a total 
value of over $202 billion. 
(6) In 2011, Medicare is expected to spend $93 
billion for the care of individuals with Alzheimer’s 
disease and other dementias and this amount is pro-
jected to increase to $627 billion in 2050. Medicaid 
costs is expected to increase nearly 400 percent, 
from $37 billion in 2011 to $178 billion in 2050. 
(7) In fiscal year 2010, the Federal Govern-
ment spent $450 million on Alzheimer’s disease re-
search. For every $100 the Federal Government 
spent on Alzheimer’s disease research in fiscal year 
2010, Medicare and Medicaid spent more than 
$28,000 for care for people with Alzheimer’s disease. 
(8) Research leading to treatments that delay 
onset of Alzheimer’s disease by just five years would 
cut Federal Government spending on the disease by 
45 percent in 2050. 
(9) In 2010, Congress passed the National Alz-
heimer’s Project Act, which instructs the Depart-
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ment of Health and Human Services to develop a 
strategic plan (referred to in this section as the 
‘‘National Alzheimer’s Project plan’’) to address the 
rapidly escalating Alzheimer’s disease crisis. 
(10) The annually updated National Alz-
heimer’s Project plan must be transmitted to Con-
gress each year and is to include outcome-driven ob-
jectives, recommendations for priority actions, and 
coordination of all federally funded programs in Alz-
heimer’s disease research, care, and services. 
(11) It is expected that the National Alz-
heimer’s Project plan will include research priority 
actions to accelerate the development of treatments 
that would prevent, cure, or slow the progression of 
Alzheimer’s disease. 
(12) The medical and research communities 
have the ideas, the technology, and the will, but need 
the Federal Government to commit to an innovative 
research approach, to find breakthroughs that will 
provide significant returns on investment and will 
save millions of lives. 
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SEC. 3. REQUIRING A FEDERAL COMMITMENT TO ALZ-
HEIMER’S DISEASE RESEARCH. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Part A of title IV of the Public 
Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 281 et seq.) is amended 
by adding at the end the following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 404I. REQUIRING A FEDERAL COMMITMENT TO ALZ-
HEIMER’S DISEASE RESEARCH. 
‘‘(a) DEFINITION OF ALZHEIMER’S.—In this section, 
the term ‘Alzheimer’s’ means Alzheimer’s disease and re-
lated dementias. 
‘‘(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to de-
velop and execute a scientific research plan to accelerate 
breakthroughs in treatments that prevent, cure, or slow 
the progression of Alzheimer’s disease and reduce the fi-
nancial burden of Alzheimer’s on federally funded pro-
grams and families. 
‘‘(c) FEDERAL COMMITMENT TO ALZHEIMER’S DIS-
EASE RESEARCH.—For the purpose described in sub-
section (b), the Director of NIH shall coordinate and focus 
all Alzheimer’s research activities of the National Insti-
tutes of Health. Such activities shall include the following: 
‘‘(1) The establishment of a strategic Alz-
heimer’s research plan— 
‘‘(A) to expedite therapeutic outcomes for 
individuals with or at risk for Alzheimer’s, 
using scientifically based strategic planning, for 
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the conduct, coordination, and support of the 
Alzheimer’s research portfolio within the Office 
of the Director of NIH and across all Institutes 
and Centers of the National Institutes of 
Health; and 
‘‘(B) that, with respect to such Alzheimer’s 
research— 
‘‘(i) identifies research opportunities 
relating to emerging science, knowledge 
gaps, and priorities of the National Insti-
tutes of Health and provides recommenda-
tions for conducting such research; 
‘‘(ii) identifies opportunities to incor-
porate Alzheimer’s disease research in all 
relevant aging, neuroscience, basic, clinical, 
and translational science initiatives carried 
out by the National Institutes of Health, 
including initiatives that are trans-Na-
tional Institutes of Health, innovative, and 
nontraditional initiatives; 
‘‘(iii) improves existing Alzheimer’s 
programs and initiatives at the National 
Institutes of Health, including consolida-
tion or expansion of program activities, if 
such consolidation or expansion would im-
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prove program efficiencies and research 
outcomes; 
‘‘(iv) identifies gaps in the supporting 
infrastructure and the coordination of the 
Alzheimer’s research portfolio across the 
Institutes and Centers of the National In-
stitutes of Health, including the Alz-
heimer’s Disease Centers and Alzheimer’s 
Disease Research Centers and all intra-
mural and extramural Alzheimer’s-related 
activities; 
‘‘(v) identifies public-private partner-
ship opportunities to expedite the develop-
ment of mechanisms for early diagnosis 
and therapies and assistive technologies for 
Alzheimer’s, including such therapies and 
technologies that demonstrate high promise 
of substantially slowing, stopping, or re-
versing Alzheimer’s and reducing the 
amounts that the Federal Government 
would spend on the future care provided to 
individuals who develop Alzheimer’s; 
‘‘(vi) identifies opportunities to in-
crease research and improve clinical out-
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comes for women and minority populations 
at high-risk of developing Alzheimer’s; and 
‘‘(vii) incorporates the research pri-
ority actions identified by the Secretary 
and Advisory Council on Alzheimer’s Re-
search, Care, and Services in the report 
submitted by the Secretary to Congress 
under section 2(g) of the National Alz-
heimer’s 
Project 
Act 
(42 
U.S.C. 
11225(g)). 
‘‘(2) The provision of budget estimates, without 
regard to the probability that such amounts so esti-
mated will be appropriated, including— 
‘‘(A) budget estimates of the amounts re-
quired for the Institutes and Centers of the Na-
tional Institutes of Health to carry out all Alz-
heimer’s activities identified in the strategic re-
search plan developed under paragraph (1); 
‘‘(B) budget estimates of the amounts re-
quired to carry out all identified research pri-
ority actions described in paragraph (1)(B)(vii); 
and 
‘‘(C) identification of funds in the existing 
budget of the National Institutes of Health to 
accomplish Alzheimer’s activities identified by 
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the strategic research plan developed under 
paragraph (1). 
‘‘(d) PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS.—In providing 
for Alzheimer’s research activities, the Director of NIH 
and the Directors of Institutes and Centers of the Na-
tional Institutes of Health conducting Alzheimer’s re-
search, shall make available contracts, grants, or coopera-
tive agreements to facilitate partnerships between public 
and private entities, which may include private or public 
research institutions, institutions of higher education, 
medical centers, biotechnology companies, pharmaceutical 
companies, disease advocacy organizations, patient advo-
cacy organizations, or academic research institutions. 
Such partnerships may be established for, but not limited 
to, any of the following purposes: 
‘‘(1) To execute the Alzheimer’s research plan 
established under subsection (c)(1). 
‘‘(2) To support the development of diagnostic 
technologies and protocols to encourage early diag-
nosis of individuals at risk for Alzheimer’s and to 
permit the tracking of the progression of Alzheimer’s 
in asymptomatic or symptomatic populations. 
‘‘(3) To develop and diffuse data sharing prac-
tices that accelerate the advancement of knowledge 
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and understanding of the pathogenesis, progression, 
prevention, and treatment of Alzheimer’s. 
‘‘(e) REPORTING.— 
‘‘(1) The Director of NIH shall annually report 
to the Secretary, the Advisory Council on Alz-
heimer’s Research, Care, and Services, and the ap-
propriate committees of jurisdiction in Congress, on 
the strategic research plan and budget estimates 
under subsection (c). 
‘‘(2) The Director of NIH shall, as part of its 
annual request for appropriations to the Office of 
Management and Budget, submit to the Office of 
Management and Budget and the Committees on 
Appropriations of the House of Representatives and 
the Senate a report which— 
‘‘(A) includes budget estimates developed 
under subsection (c)(2); 
‘‘(B) subject to subparagraph (C), includes 
requests for amounts to be appropriated for all 
Alzheimer’s activities identified in the strategic 
research plan under subsection (c)(1); 
‘‘(C) includes, in the case a request is not 
made under subparagraph (C) for an activity 
identified in such strategic research plan, a full 
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justification explaining why such request was 
not made; and 
‘‘(D) analyzes the progress made toward 
accelerating breakthroughs in treatments that 
would prevent, cure, or slow the progression of 
Alzheimer’s and reducing spending on Alz-
heimer’s care under federally funded programs 
and families and identifies any remaining hur-
dles to accelerating such breakthroughs or re-
ducing such financial burden.’’. 
(b) 
ALZHEIMER’S
DISEASE
CENTERS.—Section 
445(a)(1) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 
285e–2(a)(1)) is amended— 
(1) by inserting ‘‘, translational’’ after ‘‘basic’’; 
and 
(2) by inserting ‘‘and of outcome measures, and 
disease management’’ after ‘‘treatment methods’’. 
Æ 
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