Congresswoman Waters Seeks Robust Funding for Alzheimer’s Programs in Fiscal Year 2018
Leads 104 Members of Congress Seeking a $414 Million Increase in NIH Alzheimer’s Research
Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Financial Services Committee and Co-Chair of the bipartisan Congressional Task Force on Alzheimer's Disease, called for robust funding for Alzheimer's research and patient support programs in fiscal year 2018. The funding requests were included in four letters to leaders of the House Committee on Appropriations, which were signed by many of the Congresswoman's congressional colleagues.
Congresswoman Waters' first letter requested a $414 million increase in funding for Alzheimer's research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), for a total appropriation of $1.805 billion in fiscal year 2018 for research on Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. The Congresswoman's letter was signed by a bipartisan group of 104 Members of Congress.
"Alzheimer's is a tragic disease affecting millions of Americans, and it has reached crisis proportions," said Congresswoman Waters and her colleagues in the letter. "There is no effective treatment, no means of prevention, and no method for slowing the progression of the disease. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), five million Americans were living with Alzheimer's disease in the year 2013. This number is expected to almost triple to 14 million by the year 2050."
The full text of the letter can be viewed online here.
Congresswoman Waters' second letter requested $2 million for the Missing Alzheimer's Disease Patient Alert Program, a Department of Justice program that helps local communities and law enforcement officials quickly find persons with Alzheimer's disease who wander away from their homes and reunite them with their families. This small, cost-effective program received only $750,000 in fiscal year 2015 and no funds at all in fiscal years 2016 or 2017. The Congresswoman's letter was signed by 55 Members of Congress.
"This program protects the safety of thousands of Americans affected by Alzheimer's disease and brings peace-of-mind to their families," said the Congresswoman's letter. "It also saves time for law enforcement officials and allows them to focus on other security concerns."
The full text of the letter can be viewed online here.
In addition, Congresswoman Waters joined Rep. Christopher Smith (R-NJ), Co-Chair of the Congressional Task Force on Alzheimer's Disease, as co-leader of a letter recommending an appropriation of $13.4 million for the Alzheimer's Disease Supportive Services Program, which provides competitive grants to states to expand evidence-based interventions to help persons with dementia and their caregivers. This letter was signed by 25 Members of Congress.
Finally, Congresswoman Waters joined Rep. Christopher Smith as co-leader of a letter requesting $15 million for the Peer Reviewed Alzheimer's Research Program, which funds innovative research at the Department of Defense. This letter was signed by 38 Members of Congress.