Today the Senate unanimously passed bipartisan legislation that will renew the nation’s commitment to addressing the Alzheimer’s crisis — the NAPA Reauthorization Act (S. 133 / H.R. 619) and the Alzheimer’s Accountability and Investment Act (S. 134 / H.R. 620). The Alzheimer’s Association and the Alzheimer’s Impact Movement (AIM) are proud to spearhead these critical bills, which now head to the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives.
“By passing the NAPA Reauthorization Act and the Alzheimer’s Accountability and Investment Act today, the Senate has taken the next step to ensure that our nation continues making progress in the fight against Alzheimer’s and all other dementia,” said Robert Egge, Alzheimer’s Association chief public policy officer and AIM president. “On behalf of the Alzheimer’s Association and AIM, thank you to Sens. Susan Collins, Ed Markey, Shelley Moore Capito and Mark Warner for your leadership on these critical bills. We are grateful for your longstanding dedication to improving the lives of those impacted by this devastating disease.”
“Alzheimer’s is currently ranked as the seventh leading cause of death in the United States and nearly seven million Americans are living with the disease. It is also one of the most expensive diseases for society, costing an estimated $360 billion last year alone,” said Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine). “Reauthorization of NAPA and the Alzheimer’s Accountability and Investment Act would ensure our country is maintaining momentum in our fight against Alzheimer’s, just as our investments in research are beginning to translate into promising new treatments.”
“Alzheimer’s is a scourge that needs to be defeated,” said Sen. Edward Markey (D-Mass.). “I learned a lot from my father and his dedication to my mother…These families are heroes, but heroes need help.”
The NAPA Reauthorization Act would reauthorize the National Alzheimer’s Project Act (NAPA) (P.L. 111-375), landmark legislation signed into law in 2011. This bipartisan legislation also emphasizes the importance of healthy aging and risk reduction for Alzheimer’s disease to reflect the new sixth goal of the National Plan. It also adds new federal representatives to the NAPA Advisory Council from the Department of Justice (DoJ), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and the Social Security Administration (SSA). Additionally, the NAPA Reauthorization Act underscores and addresses health disparities among underrepresented populations.
With the original provisions of the Alzheimer’s Accountability Act, which was enacted in 2014, set to expire soon, Congress must pass the Alzheimer’s Accountability and Investment Act to continue the progress being made in Alzheimer’s and dementia research. This bipartisan bill would require the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to continue to submit an annual Professional Judgment Budget to Congress to ensure Alzheimer’s and dementia research is funded at the levels needed to achieve the goals in the National Plan to Address Alzheimer’s Disease. With robust and steady investment, scientists will be able to work faster to advance basic disease knowledge, explore ways to reduce risk, uncover new biomarkers for early diagnosis and drug targeting, and develop potential treatments.
“Together, the NAPA Reauthorization Act and the Alzheimer’s Accountability and Investment Act will work to ensure the critical work of the National Plan to Address Alzheimer’s Disease continues to improve the lives of those impacted by Alzheimer’s throughout the nation,” said Egge. “We look forward to the House swiftly taking action on these key pieces of bipartisan legislation.”
