[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 489 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 489

 Expressing the sense of Congress regarding the need to facilitate and 
 promote a robust response to the looming global crisis of Alzheimer's 
                      and other forms of dementia.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 25, 2014

  Mr. Smith of New Jersey (for himself, Ms. Waters, Mr. Burgess, Mr. 
Fattah, and Mr. Meadows) submitted the following resolution; which was 
 referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the 
   Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently 
   determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
 provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Expressing the sense of Congress regarding the need to facilitate and 
 promote a robust response to the looming global crisis of Alzheimer's 
                      and other forms of dementia.

Whereas dementia is a degenerative condition caused by disease of the brain--
        usually of a chronic or progressive nature--in which there is 
        disturbance of multiple higher cortical functions, including memory, 
        thinking, orientation, comprehension, calculation, learning capacity, 
        language and judgment.
Whereas between 5 to 7 percent of the world's population age 60 and above are 
        estimated to have dementia.
Whereas dementia can be caused by various factors, including traumatic or 
        localized brain injury, a temporary interruption of the brain's supply 
        of blood or oxygen, infection, stroke, brain hemorrhage, prolonged 
        seizures or even excessive alcohol use.
Whereas Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia, accounting for 
        60-70% of dementia cases. Other forms of dementia include vascular 
        dementia (caused by damage from impaired blood flow), frontotemporal 
        dementia (involving degeneration of the frontal lobe of the brain 
        governing mood and behavior), semantic dementia (caused by damage to the 
        left temporal lobe governing speech) and dementia with Lewy bodies 
        (involving abnormal aggregation of protein inside nerve cells in the 
        brain).
Whereas, according to Alzheimer's Disease International, more than 44 million 
        people worldwide are suffering from Alzheimer's or dementia, a figure 
        that will expand to more than 75 million people by 2030 and more than 
        115 million people by 2050 if the current trajectory of the disease 
        remains unchanged. Globally, a new case of dementia occurs every four 
        seconds.
Whereas Alzheimer's disease and related dementias impose a devastating, 
        unsustainable and rapidly growing toll on the health and fiscal well-
        being of the United States and all countries. In 2010, the annual global 
        societal economic cost of Alzheimer's and dementia was estimated to be 
        $604 billion, about 1 percent of the world's Gross Domestic Product 
        (GDP).
Whereas more than 62 percent of people with dementia globally live in low-to-
        middle income countries, and by 2050 this percentage will exceed 70 
        percent.
Whereas Standard & Poors rating agency has identified global aging as ``the 
        dominant threat to global economic stability'' that will ``lead to 
        profound changes in economic growth for countries around the world.''
Whereas no disease-modifying therapy or treatment for Alzheimer's exists today. 
        Dementia can be classified as either reversible or irreversible, fewer 
        than 10% of cases of dementia are due to causes that currently may be 
        reversed with treatment.
Whereas in January 2012, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the 
        political declaration of the high-level meeting of the General Assembly 
        on the Prevention and Controls of Non-communicable disease that 
        recognized Alzheimer's as being ``an important cause of morbidity'' and 
        a corresponding ``need to provide equitable access to effective 
        programmes and health- care interventions.''
Whereas in 2012, the United States adopted a National Plan to Address 
        Alzheimer's Disease that set as its first goal preventing and 
        effectively treating Alzheimer's disease by 2025.
Whereas in December 2013 the G8 nations convened the G8 Dementia Summit and 
        established a similar goal to ``identify a cure or a disease-modifying 
        therapy for dementia by 2025 and to increase collectively and 
        significantly the amount of funding for dementia research to reach that 
        goal.
Whereas the G8 political declaration called for greater international 
        collaboration and sharing on Alzheimer's research and for the 
        development of a coordinated international research plan that ``accounts 
        for the current state of the science, identifies gaps and opportunities, 
        and lays out a plan for working together to address them.''
Whereas the G8 declaration also called for ``greater innovation to improve the 
        quality of life for people with dementia and their caretakers while 
        reducing emotional and financial burden'' and for ``exploring the 
        possibility of developing a private and philanthropic fund to support 
        global dementia innovation.'': Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That it should be the policy of the U.S. Government to 
encourage and facilitate as feasible:
            1. The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall enter 
        into negotiations with the World Health Organization to develop 
        a Global Alzheimer's and Dementia Action Plan focused on the 
        following areas:
                    (A) Research, including clinical research and 
                clinical trials, and regulatory issue;
                    (B) Clinical care;
                    (C) Supportive services for patients and for 
                caregivers, including supports using innovative 
                technologies;
                    (D) Clinical care;
                    (E) Supportive services for patients and for 
                caregivers, including supports using innovative 
                technologies;
                    (F) Prevention and health promotion;
                    (G) Development of a stable and sustained 
                international commitment to Alzheimer's research, and
                    (H) Public awareness and education, particularly 
                efforts aimed at reducing stigmas and increasing the 
                inclusion of persons with Alzheimer's and dementia 
                within civil society.
            2. In addition to the WHO, the effort should involve all 
        other nations that have adopted national Alzheimer's and/or 
        dementia plans or strategies and, to the greatest extent 
        possible, connect to components of one or more of said plans. 
        Nations without plans yet willing to participate in developing 
        the global strategy can do so if they commit to providing 
        resources to fund the effort.
            3. The Secretary of Health and Human Services along with 
        the Secretary of the Treasury should develop the foundation for 
        a Global Alzheimer's Fund that would provide resources to 
        support implementation of specific strategies of the Global 
        Plan. This early-stage effort shall include:
                    (A) Priority areas of focus,
                    (B) Governance structure and
                    (C) Participation of other government, private 
                entities and non-governmental organizations
        The U.S. government should assign a high-level person to lead 
        and coordinate all Global Alzheimer's and dementia initiatives 
        including representing the United States in all convenings 
        focused on developing the plan, fund, and corresponding 
        components.
            4. The G8 nations, working with the G20, G77 and other 
        forums including the Organization for Economic Cooperation and 
        Development (OECD) should investigate systems to monitor and 
        provide care to persons with Alzheimer's and other forms of 
        dementia in developing countries to help build care delivery 
        capacity.
            5. The U.S. Agency for International Development, in 
        collaboration with all other relevant U.S. agencies, should 
        investigate the foreign aid implications of Alzheimer's and 
        other forms of dementia and inform Congress as to the need for 
        possible changes to foreign healthcare-related foreign 
        assistance.
            6. In order to maximize the possibility of successful 
        treatment for Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia, the U.S. 
        government should encourage and facilitate partnerships with 
        the private sector, such as the current partnership between the 
        National Institutes of health and 10 pharmaceutical companies 
        to identify new approaches to treat Alzheimer's and other 
        medical conditions.
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