Date: 2015-02-10
Speaker: MAXINE WATERS (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. as cochair of the Congressional Task Force on Alzheimers Disease. I know how devastating this disease can be for patients. families. and caregivers. The task force works on a bipartisan basis to increase awareness of Alzheimers. strengthen the Federal response to the disease. and provide assistance to Alzheimers patients and their caregivers. I am proud to lead the task force. along with my returning cochair. Congressman CHRIS SMITH. and incoming cochairs MICHAEL BURGESS and CHAKA FATTAH. Alzheimers is a tragic disease affecting millions of Americans. and it has reached crisis proportions. There is no effective treatment. no means of prevention. nor even a method for slowing the progression of the disease. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 5 million Americans are living with Alzheimers disease as of 2013. This number is expected to almost triple to 14 million by the year The cost associated with Alzheimers disease and other forms of dementia are also growing at an unsustainable rate. A recent RAND study of adults ages 70 years and older found that the total economic cost of dementia in 2010 was estimated to be $109 billion for direct care alone. That is higher than the cost of both heart disease and cancer. Furthermore. when the cost of informal care is included. the total cost rises to between $159 billion and $215 billion. We must act now to change the trajectory of this disease. The bipartisansupported National Plan to Address Alzheimers Disease calls for a cure or an effective treatment for Alzheimers by the year 2025. Reaching this goal will require a significant increase in Federal funding for Alzheimers research. Last December. I joined together with task force cochair Congressman CHRIS SMITH to call for a $200 million increase in funding for Alzheimers research in the Presidents budget for fiscal year 2016. However. while the Presidents budget did recognize the importance of Alzheimers research. it only increased funding by $51 million. This year. I plan to work with my colleagues on the task force to make certain Congress appropriates robust funding for Alzheimers research to meet the urgent need. I also plan to reintroduce three bills to expand the available resources for Alzheimers research and assist patients. families. and caregivers. First. I will reintroduce the Alzheimers Caregiver Support Act. This bill will authorize grants to public and nonprofit organizations to expand training and support services for families and caregivers of Alzheimers patients. With the majority of Alzheimers patients living at home under the care of family and friends. it is important that we ensure these caregivers have access to the training and resources needed to provide proper care. Second. I will reintroduce legislation to reauthorize and improve the Missing Alzheimers Disease Patient Alert Program. a small but effective Department of Justice program that helps local communities and law enforcement agencies quickly identify persons with Alzheimers disease who wander away from their homes and safely reunite them with their families. This program is very valuable. It is a valuable resource for first responders. More importantly. it protects vulnerable Alzheimers patients and brings peace of mind to their families. Several years ago. I offered an amendment to continue funding for this program. which cost only $1 million for the year. The following year. I called for. and received. a doubling of the funding for this important program. Since then. I have made sure this program gets funding every year. I am not happy with the amount of the funding. We need to do more. and we have to fight more beyond 2015 into the 2016 budget to make sure that we get more money because it is desperately needed. Finally. I will reintroduce the legislation to require the U.S. Postal Service to issue and sell a semipostal stamp. with the proceeds helping to fund Alzheimers research at the National Institutes of Health. This would encourage concerned individuals to get involved and contribute to Alzheimers research efforts. just as many have done in the case of the popular and successful Breast Cancer Research semipostal stamp. Our Nation is at a critical crossroads. The situation requires decisive action to search for a cure and protect the millions of Americans currently living with Alzheimers disease. Together. we must take every possible action to improve treatments for Alzheimers patients. support caregivers. and invest in research to find a cure for this dreadful disease. Once again. I want to thank JOHN GARAMENDI. my colleague from California. whom I have worked with for many. many years. for again organizing yet another night Special Order.