[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 146 (Monday, September 15, 2008)]
[House]
[Pages H8097-H8098]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 MISSING ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE PATIENT ALERT PROGRAM REAUTHORIZATION OF 
                                  2008

  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
pass the bill (H.R. 6503) to amend the Violent Crime Control and Law 
Enforcement Act of 1994 to reauthorize the Missing Alzheimer's Disease 
Patient Alert Program.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 6503

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Missing Alzheimer's Disease 
     Patient Alert Program Reauthorization of 2008''.

     SEC. 2. REAUTHORIZATION OF THE MISSING ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE 
                   PATIENT ALERT PROGRAM.

       Section 240001 of the Violent Crime Control and Law 
     Enforcement Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 14181) is amended--
       (1) by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:
       ``(a) Grant.--Subject to the availability of appropriations 
     to carry out this section, the Attorney General, through the 
     Bureau of Justice Assistance and in consultation with the 
     Secretary of Health and Human Services, shall award 
     competitive grants to nonprofit organizations to assist such 
     organizations in paying for the costs of planning, designing, 
     establishing, and operating locally based, proactive programs 
     to protect and locate missing patients with Alzheimer's 
     disease and related dementias and other missing elderly 
     individuals.'';
       (2) in subsection (b)--
       (A) by inserting ``competitive'' after ``to receive a''; 
     and
       (B) by adding at the end the following new sentence: ``The 
     Attorney General shall periodically solicit applications for 
     grants under this section by publishing a request for 
     applications in the Federal Register and by posting such a 
     request on the website of the Department of Justice.'';
       (3) by amending subsection (c) to read as follows:
       ``(c) Preference.--In awarding grants under subsection (a), 
     the Attorney General shall give preference to national 
     nonprofit organizations that have a direct link to patients, 
     and families of patients, with Alzheimer's disease and 
     related dementias.''; and
       (4) by amending subsection (d) to read as follows:
       ``(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are 
     authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 
     $5,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2009 through 2015.''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Virginia (Mr. Scott) and the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Pence) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Virginia.


                             General Leave

  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Virginia?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 6503, the Missing Alzheimer's Disease Patient Alert 
Program Reauthorization of 2008, helps to address the serious problem 
of seniors who go missing each year as a result of dementia.
  The Missing Alzheimer's Disease Patient Alert Program was created in 
1994. While Congress has continued to support and fund it, its formal 
authorization expired in 1998. This legislation, sponsored by the 
gentlelady from California (Ms. Waters), will reauthorize the program.
  It authorizes the Attorney General to award competitive grants to 
nonprofit organizations for the planning, establishing, and operating 
locally based programs to protect and locate missing persons with 
Alzheimer's disease, dementia, or other problems.
  This is an excellent measure that responds to a critical problem. 
Accordingly, I urge my colleagues to support the legislation.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. PENCE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this legislation and 
yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6503, the Missing Alzheimer's 
Disease Patient Alert Program Reauthorization of 2008, and I would ask 
unanimous consent to yield the balance of the time on our side to a 
member of our conference who, while not a member of the Judiciary 
Committee of the House, Congressman Tim Murphy of Pennsylvania is a man 
who possesses a Ph.D. in psychology, has a deep personal interest and 
background in this area and it seems to us to be altogether fitting if 
he'd carry our support for this important and bipartisan legislation.
  So by unanimous consent, I would like to yield the balance of our 
time to Mr. Murphy to carry that legislation.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Indiana?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. TIM MURPHY of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman 
from Indiana for allowing me to participate in this particular bill to 
help not only our seniors but everyone who is afflicted, the 5 million 
Americans who suffer from Alzheimer's disease or dementia. Of these, 
nearly 3 million, or 60 percent, will become lost from their families 
or loved ones or caretakers. If not found within 24 hours, up to half 
will become seriously injured or die.
  H.R. 6503, the Missing Alzheimer's Disease Patient Alert Program, 
will increase the chance of locating missing persons suffering from 
this disease within the critical first 24 hours. H.R. 6503 authorizes 
funds for grants for nonprofit organizations to assist in paying for 
the costs of establishing and operating programs to protect and locate 
missing patients with Alzheimer's disease.
  With police departments now being called upon to find missing 
elderly, these community organizations are critical in assisting law 
enforcement officials with their searches. Tips from family and people 
in the community often lead to the whereabouts of any missing person, 
including the elderly.
  Each year, thousands more Americans are being diagnosed with 
Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia. The symptoms of these 
diseases often leave their victims feeling disoriented, lost, and 
vulnerable. H.R. 6503, the Missing Alzheimer's Disease Patient Alert 
Program, provides support to those local programs working everyday to 
offer these patients protection and their loved ones some peace of 
mind.
  I might add here that just this weekend I found out a dear friend of 
mine was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer's. He's been a long-distance 
runner for all of his adult life, and ironically enough, he's still 
able to go out and find trails and run on them, but it is something 
that his doctors are concerned about for him that one day will he, too, 
become one who is perhaps lost as he tries to negotiate his community 
and his neighborhood.

[[Page H8098]]

  Certainly for folks like my friend and others around the country who 
are suffering from dementia, early states or later, we have to 
recognize the value and importance of this bill. I might note this 
passed the Judiciary Committee unanimously, and I certainly urge all of 
my colleagues to support this legislation.
  With that, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I will yield the balance of the 
time to the gentlelady from California (Ms. Waters), a member of the 
Judiciary Committee and the author of the bill.
  Ms. WATERS. I would first like to thank the gentleman from Virginia, 
Mr. Bobby Scott, for the time. And I thank him for making sure that 
this bill come to the floor tonight.
  I rise in strong support of my bill, H.R. 6503, the Missing 
Alzheimer's Disease Patient Alert Program Reauthorization Act. The 
Missing Alzheimer's Disease Patient Alert Program is a Department of 
Justice program that helps local communities and law enforcement 
officials quickly identify persons with Alzheimer's disease who wander 
or who are missing and reunite them with their families.
  Since its inception more than 10 years ago, this program has funded a 
national registry of more than 172,000 individuals at risk of wandering 
and has reunited over 12,000 wanderers with their families.
  It is a highly successful program whereby 88 percent of registrants 
who wander are found within the first 4 hours of being reported 
missing. A total of 1,288 wandering incidents were reported to the 
program in 2007. The program has a 98 percent success rate in 
recovering enrollees who are reported missing.
  There also are technology-based options to address wandering that 
should be considered for funding under the Missing Alzheimer's Patient 
Program. For example, personalized wristbands that emit a tracking 
signal can be used to locate wanderers. These wristbands, when combined 
with specially trained search and rescue teams, can reduce search times 
from hours and days to minutes.
  Congress originally authorized $900,000 in appropriations for the 
Missing Alzheimer's Patient Program for 3 years, that is 1996 through 
1998, but never reauthorized or updated the program. Since then, the 
program has continued to receive funding on a year-to-year basis, but 
funding has remained virtually flat since its inception.
  H.R. 6503 reauthorizes updates and expands the Missing Alzheimer's 
Patient Program. The program authorizes up to $5 million per year in 
appropriations for fiscal years 2009 through 2015, a modest increase 
over the current appropriation of $1 million in fiscal year 2008.
  The bill expands the program so as to allow the Department of Justice 
to award multiple competitive grants to nonprofit organizations. 
Preference would be given to national nonprofit organizations that have 
a direct link to patients and families of patients with Alzheimer's 
disease and related dementias.
  Finally, the bill specifies that the program will be operated under 
the Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Assistance. Currently, 
the program is operated under the Office of Juvenile Justice, which is 
obviously not the most appropriate agency for a program serving the 
elderly.
  H.R. 6503 has 25 bipartisan cosponsors, including the cochairs of the 
Congressional Alzheimer's Task Force, Congressmen Edward Markey and 
Christopher Smith. The bill is also supported by the Alzheimer's 
Foundation of America and Project Lifesaver.
  Furthermore, on May 14, a diverse group of over 85 national State and 
local organizations sent a letter to the members of the House Judiciary 
Committee supporting this approach to the reauthorization of the 
Missing Alzheimer's Patient Program.
  The Missing Alzheimer's Patient Program is a critical resource for 
first responders. It saves law enforcement officials valuable time, 
allowing them to focus on other national and local security concerns. 
It is critical that we reauthorize and expand this small but effective 
program.
  I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 6503. And with that, I thank all 
of those who have worked to bring this bill to the floor.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, thank you for your leadership 
in bringing this bill to the floor. I support H.R. 6503, to amend the 
Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 to reauthorize 
the Missing Alzheimer's Disease Patient Alert Program. I urge my 
colleagues to support this bill.
  Thousands of vulnerable older adults go missing each year as a result 
of dementia, diminished capacity, foul play or other unusual 
circumstances. The Alzheimer's Foundation of America estimates that 
over five million Americans suffer from Alzheimer's disease, and that 
60 percent of these are likely to wander from their homes. Alzheimers 
diseases and other dementia related illnesses often leave their victims 
disoriented and confused and unable to find their way home. According 
to the Alzheimers Association, up to 50 of wanderers risk serious 
illness, injury or death if not found within 24 hours. The problem can 
be exacerbated greatly by national disasters, such as Hurricane 
Katrina, that can, in a matter of hours, increase the number of missing 
persons by the thousands.
  H.R. 6503 reauthorizes the existing Missing Alzheimer's Disease 
Patient Alert Program. The bill authorizes $5 million for each fiscal 
year through 2015 for competitive grants to nonprofit organizations. 
The money may be used to pay for the ``costs of planning, designing, 
establishing, and operating locally based, proactive programs to 
protect and locate missing patients with Alzheimers disease and related 
dementias and other missing elderly individuals.'' The bill states a 
preference for ``national nonprofit organizations that have a direct 
line to patients, and families of patients, with Alzheimers disease and 
related dementias.''
  When I consider the necessity of this bill, I am reminded about the 
time when I was personally called upon by a constituent in the 18th 
Congressional District in Texas. A few years back, the family of Mr. 
Sammy Kirk, enlisted my help in searching for Kirk. Mr. Kirk was an 
elderly man, suffering from Alzheimers and he had wandered away from 
his family in Houston. He was lost. His family called me to help search 
for him. I, along with his family, searched many hours and many days. 
In total, I searched for three days for Mr. Kirk. Finally, Mr. Sammy 
Kirk was found. He was found and he was dead. He wandered many miles 
away from his family and was found dead along the bayou. It would have 
been so much easier, and his life could have been spared if there was 
an electronic monitoring service that could have been used to help keep 
Mr. Kirk close to his and family and it would have certainly aided in 
our search for Mr. Kirk. An innocent, yet vulnerable, life could have 
been saved. This bill is necessary and I encourage my colleagues to 
support it.

                              {time}  1930

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Scott) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 6503.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. TIM MURPHY of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on 
the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order 
that a quorum is not present.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.
  The point of no quorum is considered withdrawn.

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