[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 149 (Monday, November 18, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Page S11309]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  NATIONAL ALZHEIMER'S AWARENESS WEEK

  Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, 20 years ago, President Reagan signed a 
proclamation designating the first National Alzheimer's Awareness Week. 
Today, as part of this year's National Alzheimer's Disease Awareness 
Month, I would like to commend and thank all those who have worked to 
battle this terrible disease.
  As the chairman of the Appropriations subcommittee that oversees 
funding for the National Institutes of Health, and someone who has 
watched many close friends succumb to Alzheimer's over the years, I 
have learned perhaps more than I wish I knew about this disease. In 
1982, 2 million people suffered from Alzheimer's; today, the number is 
4 million. By the year 2050, that number will rise to 14 million, and 
we will be paying $357 billion a year in health care costs, unless 
science can find a way to prevent or delay this disease.
  Fortunately, that goal is in sight. Researchers are finally closing 
in on what causes Alzheimer's; they are using cutting-edge brain 
imaging to figure out how to diagnose it; and they are studying 
everything from folic acid and statins to Advil and gingko biloba to 
see if any of these drugs and supplements can help delay it.
  Much of that research would not have been possible without the 
substantial increase in Federal funding that Senator Specter and I, 
working together on the Senate Labor, Health and Human Services, and 
Education Appropriations Subcommittee, have secured for NIH. In fiscal 
year 1998, when we began our bipartisan effort to double the NIH's 
budget, NIH spent $356 million on Alzheimer's disease. When Congress 
completes the doubling effort this year, that number will rise to 
almost $650 million.
  But it is still not enough. We need to raise that total to $1 billion 
as soon as possible, if we're really going to be serious about reducing 
the physical and economic costs of Alzheimer's. According to experts, 
delaying the onset and progression of Alzheimer's for even 5 years 
could save as much as $50 billion in annual health care costs. 
President Reagan's son-in-law, Dennis C. Revell, makes an excellent 
case for investing more money in Alzheimer's research in an op-ed in 
today's Washington Times.
  In the meantime, we are fortunate that so many people across this 
country are working to support Alzheimer's research and care. I have 
worked for many years with the national Alzheimer's Association, as 
well as with their local chapters in Iowa, and I can tell you firsthand 
that they will not rest until scientists find a cure. As the Nation 
recognizes Alzheimer's Disease Awareness Month throughout November, I 
thank them for their dedication.
  I ask unanimous consent that the article be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                          Alzheimer's Disease

                         (By Dennis C. Revell)

       ``That's the worst part of this disease. There's nobody to 
     exchange memories with.'' (Nancy Reagan, Sept. 25, ``60 
     Minutes II.'')
       Alzheimer's disease doesn't make special arrangements for 
     anyone, even for the leader of the free world. In tragic 
     irony, 20 years ago this week President Reagan launched a 
     national campaign against Alzheimer's disease. In a historic 
     White House ceremony, he drew national attention to 
     Alzheimer's and defined it as a major health menace. He 
     proclaimed November National Alzheimer's Disease Awareness 
     Month, warning the American people of ``the emotional, 
     financial and social consequences of Alzheimer's disease.'' 
     With vision and leadership, he argued for research as ``the 
     only hope for victims and families.''
       The brain is a miracle when it works, and a mystery when it 
     fails. One of the most haunting, puzzling, and soon to be 
     most costly of the brain's failures is Alzheimer's--a 
     degenerative, progressive, and terminal brain disorder.
       Most people think of Alzheimer's strictly as memory loss. 
     It is much more, although memory loss alone would be scary 
     enough. Memories are the records of our lives--the essential 
     stuff of our identities and personalities--the very essence 
     of what we share with those we love.
       On Nov. 5, 1994, Ronald Reagan wrote a courageous letter to 
     the American people about his own diagnosis of Alzheimer's, 
     and his 1982 presidential campaign against the disease became 
     his family's personal struggle.
       We have made giant strides toward fulfilling his vision, 
     and now this Congress and President Bush have the opportunity 
     to finish the battle he began. Congress has steadily invested 
     public funds in Alzheimer's research over the past 20 years 
     and the Alzheimer's Association has added millions in private 
     funds.
       That investment in research is now paying off. Science is 
     at the point where effective treatment and prevention of 
     Alzheimer's is within reach. The research infrastructure 
     is in place; the paths for further investigation are 
     clear. The missing ingredient is money. A $1 billion 
     federal investment now will pay big dividends in the 
     future.
       When Ronald Reagan sounded his battle cry against 
     Alzheimer's, an estimated 2 million people were suffering 
     from this awful disease. Today, the number has grown to more 
     than 4 million, with an additional 19 million family members 
     suffering the emotional and financial impact--24 hours a day, 
     seven days a week, 365 days a year.
       Unfortunately, over the next 50 years, as many as 14 
     million baby boomers will be the next large pool of victims, 
     unless we find ways to further slow down or stop the changes 
     in their brains that might already be taking place.
       The threat to so many American families should be enough to 
     urge us to action, but the economic impact of the disease 
     drives us as well. In just 10 years, the annual cost of 
     Alzheimer's disease to Medicare and Medicaid will rise from 
     $50 billion to more than $82 billion. Since 1998, estimates 
     of the annual cost of Alzheimer's disease to American 
     business have risen from $33 billion to more than $61 
     billion.
       During this Alzheimer's Awareness Month, we reflect upon 
     the extraordinary progress we have made as a nation these 
     past 20 years:
       Twenty years ago, there were no treatments for Alzheimer's 
     disease; today, four Alzheimer drugs have been approved, and 
     researchers are working to bring even more promising 
     treatments, including a potential vaccine, to market.
       Twenty years ago, we had little information on risk factors 
     to point the way to prevention; today, there is growing 
     evidence that known risk factors for heart disease, including 
     high blood pressure and high cholesterol, may also increase 
     the risk for Alzheimer's.
       Twenty years ago, only a handful of scientists were 
     studying Alzheimer's; now, thousands of scientists around the 
     world are racing to find the answers.
       Twenty years ago, Alzheimer scientists were working in 
     isolation; today, 33 Alzheimer's disease centers are funded 
     by the National Institute on Aging, where scientists 
     collaborate to speed the search.
       We are so close. Thanks to the dynamics Ronald Reagan set 
     in motion two decades ago, science has changed the view of 
     Alzheimer's disease from one of helplessness to one of hope. 
     But this is no time to sit back and rest on a sense of 
     accomplishment.
       The answer is still research, research, and more research. 
     Individuals and families living with the disease research. 
     Individuals and families living with the disease have joined 
     the Alzheimer's Association in challenging Mr. Bush and 
     Congress to increase the federal commitment to Alzheimer 
     research.
       We call on Congress to increase funding for the National 
     Institutes of Health to $1 billion a year to continue the 
     momentum in Alzheimer research. We call upon Mr. Bush to make 
     this important cause his own by including in his budget for 
     next year the necessary funds to accelerate the pace of 
     research.
       We are in a race against time. Without sufficient research 
     resources now, we will lose that race.
       We can change the course of Alzheimer's disease, for the 4 
     million people suffering today, for the 19 million family 
     members who are caring for them, and for up to 14 million 
     Americans who today face the fate that befell a man who means 
     so much to us and to the world.
       Testifying before the Senate about Alzheimer's disease 
     shortly before her own death, Maureen Reagan took up her 
     father's mission, calling upon Congress to ``make this the 
     last generation that would live without hope.''
       Both Ronald Reagan and Maureen always looked to a brighter 
     horizon. Congress and Mr. Bush can ensure that we reach that 
     horizon before the sun sets on another generation with 
     Alzheimer's disease.




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