[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 166 (Wednesday, November 20, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8365-S8368]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SENATE RESOLUTION 303--DECLARING THAT ACHIEVING THE PRIMARY GOAL OF THE
NATIONAL PLAN TO ADDRESS ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE OF THE DEPARTMENT OF
HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES TO PREVENT AND EFFECTIVELY TREAT ALZHEIMER'S
DISEASE BY 2025 IS AN URGENT NATIONAL PRIORITY
Ms. COLLINS (for herself, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. Durbin, and Mr.
Blumenthal) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to
the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions:
S. Res. 303
Whereas the number of individuals in the United States with
Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (referred to in
this preamble as ``Alzheimer's'') is as high as 5,200,000,
which is more than double the number in 1980;
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Whereas based on the trajectory of Alzheimer's, as many as
16,000,000 individuals in the United States may have
Alzheimer's by 2050;
Whereas Alzheimer's is a global health crisis that afflicts
an estimated 36,000,000 individuals worldwide as of October
2013 and may afflict over 115,000,000 individuals by 2050;
Whereas Alzheimer's is the 6th leading cause of death in
the United States;
Whereas Alzheimer's is the only disease among the top 10
causes of death in the United States without an effective
means of prevention, treatment, or cure;
Whereas Alzheimer's places an enormous financial strain on
families, the health care system, and State and Federal
budgets;
Whereas in 2013, the direct costs of caring for individuals
with Alzheimer's will total an estimated $203,000,000,000,
including $142,000,000,000 in costs to the Medicare program
under title XVIII of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395
et seq.) and the Medicaid program under title XIX of the
Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.);
Whereas the annual costs of caring for individuals with
Alzheimer's are projected to increase from $203,000,000,000
in 2013 to $1,200,000,000,000 in 2050;
Whereas a RAND Corporation study published in 2013 and
commissioned by the National Institute on Aging found that
Alzheimer's is the costliest disease in the United States,
costing more than cancer and heart disease;
Whereas in 2012, an estimated 15,400,000 family members and
friends of individuals with Alzheimer's provided those
individuals with 17,500,000,000 hours of unpaid care, an
amount valued at more than $216,000,000;
Whereas the global cost of Alzheimer's exceeds
$600,000,000,000 each year, an amount equal to approximately
1 percent of the world's gross domestic product;
Whereas Alzheimer's takes an emotional and physical toll on
caregivers that results in a higher incidence of chronic
conditions, such as heart disease, cancer, and depression
among caregivers;
Whereas the National Plan to Address Alzheimer's Disease of
the Department of Health and Human Services enables family
caregivers of individuals with Alzheimer's to provide care
while maintaining personal health and well-being;
Whereas the National Plan to Address Alzheimer's Disease
supports informal caregivers by--
(1) identifying the support needs of caregivers;
(2) developing and disseminating modes for intervention;
(3) providing information that caregivers need,
particularly in crisis situations; and
(4) assisting caregivers in maintaining personal health
and well-being;
Whereas a strong and sustained research effort is the best
tool to slow the progression and ultimately prevent the onset
of Alzheimer's;
Whereas the National Institutes of Health spends each year
approximately--
(1) $6,000,000,000 on cancer research;
(2) $3,000,000,000 on HIV/AIDS research; and
(3) $2,000,000,000 on cardiovascular disease research;
Whereas while the cost to the Medicare and Medicaid
programs of caring for Alzheimer's patients is
$142,000,000,000 each year, the United States spends slightly
more than $500,000,000 each year on Alzheimer's research;
Whereas the Chairman of the Advisory Council on Alzheimer's
Research, Care, and Services created by the National
Alzheimer's Project Act (42 U.S.C. 11225) has testified
before Congress that the United States must devote at least
$2,000,000,000 each year to Alzheimer's research to reach the
goal of preventing and effectively treating Alzheimer's by
2025; and
Whereas the public members of the Advisory Council on
Alzheimer's Research, Care, and Services unanimously agree
with the testimony of the Chairman regarding the amount of
money required to reach the goal for 2025: Now, therefore, be
it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) is committed to strengthening the quality of care and
expanding support for individuals with Alzheimer's disease
and related dementias (referred to in this resolution as
``Alzheimer's'') and family caregivers of individuals with
Alzheimer's;
(2) declares that achieving the primary goal of the
National Plan to Address Alzheimer's Disease to prevent and
effectively treat Alzheimer's by 2025 is an urgent national
priority;
(3) recognizes that bold action and dramatic increases in
funding are necessary to meet that goal; and
(4) strives to--
(A) double the amount of funding the United States spends
on Alzheimer's research in fiscal year 2015; and
(B) develop a plan for fiscal years 2016 through 2019 to
meet the target of the Advisory Council on Alzheimer's
Research, Care, and Services for the United States to spend
$2,000,000,000 each year on Alzheimer's research.
Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I am very pleased to be here on the
Senate floor with my friend and colleague from Minnesota Senator
Klobuchar as we submit an important resolution.
This month is National Alzheimer's Awareness Month. Alzheimer's is a
terrible disease that exacts a tremendous personal and economic toll on
both the individual and the family. As have many families, mine has
experienced the pain of Alzheimer's. I know there is no more helpless
feeling than to watch the progression of this devastating disease. It
is equally painful to witness the emotional and physical damage
inflicted on family caregivers exhausted by an endless series of 36-
hour days.
Moreover, Alzheimer's disease is the only cause of death among the
top 10 in our Nation without a way to prevent it, to cure it, or even
to slow its progression. More than 5 million Americans have Alzheimer's
disease--more than double the number in 1980. Based on current
projections, as many as 16 million Americans over the age of 65 will
have Alzheimer's by the year 2050.
In addition to the tremendous human suffering it causes, Alzheimer's
costs the United States more than $200 billion a year, including $142
billion in costs to the Medicare and Medicaid Programs. This price tag
will increase exponentially as the baby boom generation ages. If we
fail to change the current trajectory of Alzheimer's disease, our
country will not only face a mounting public health crisis but an
economic one as well. If nothing is done to slow or stop this disease,
the Alzheimer's Association estimates that Alzheimer's will cost our
country an astonishing $20 trillion over the next 40 years.
It is estimated that nearly one in two baby boomers reaching the age
of 85 will develop Alzheimer's. As a consequence, chances are the
members of the baby boom generation will either be spending their
golden years suffering from Alzheimer's or caring for someone who has
it. In many ways, Alzheimer's has become the defining disease of this
generation.
If we are to prevent Alzheimer's from becoming the defining disease
of the next generation, it is imperative that we dramatically increase
our investment in Alzheimer's disease research. According to a study
commissioned by the National Institute on Aging, Alzheimer's and other
dementias cost the United States more than cancer and heart disease.
This study finds that both the costs and number of people with dementia
will more than double within 30 years--skyrocketing at a rate that
rarely occurs with a chronic disease.
At a time when the cost to Medicare and Medicaid of caring for
Alzheimer's patients exceeds $140 billion a year, we are spending only
slightly more than $500 million on Alzheimer's research. We are
spending $142 billion under Medicare and Medicaid, more than $200
billion overall, and yet only $500 million on research. We currently
spend $6 billion a year for cancer research, $3 billion a year for
research on HIV/AIDS, and $2 billion for cardiovascular research. And I
wish to emphasize that those are always worthy investments--investments
that have paid dividends in terms of better treatments, cures, and in
some cases prolonged lives. Surely we can do more for Alzheimer's given
the tremendous human and economic price of this devastating disease.
The National Plan to Address Alzheimer's Disease was authorized by a
bipartisan law passed in 2010 called the National Alzheimer's Project
Act, which I authored with then-Senator Evan Bayh.
The national plan has as its primary goal to ``prevent and
effectively treat Alzheimer's disease by 2025.'' The chairman of the
Advisory Council on Alzheimer's Research, Care, and Services, which was
created by the National Alzheimer's Project Act, has testified before
Congress that the United States must devote at least $2 billion a year
to Alzheimer's research to achieve that goal.
I am therefore joining with my colleague from Minnesota Senator
Klobuchar in submitting this resolution declaring that the goal of
preventing and effectively treating Alzheimer's by 2025 is an urgent
national priority. Our resolution recognizes that dramatic increases in
research funding are necessary to meet that goal and resolves that the
Senate will strive to double the amount of funding the United States
spends on Alzheimer's research in fiscal year 2015 and then develop a
plan to meet the target of $2 billion a year over the next 5 years.
Just think of the figures. We are spending some $212 billion a year
treating, caring for people with Alzheimer's.
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All we are asking is that over the next 5 years we achieve the goal
that the Alzheimer's Council--a council of experts in Alzheimer's--
including experts from the Mayo Clinic in Senator Klobuchar's home
State, have recommended that we spend $2 billion. Mr. President, $2
billion is such a tiny percentage of the amount we are spending.
So this is a worthy investment. It is one that will not only relieve
suffering, save lives, potentially, but it will also more than pay for
itself.
I urge our colleagues to join us as cosponsors.
I ask unanimous consent that letters from the Alzheimer's Association
and the UsAgainstAlzheimer's group--both predominant national advocacy
groups endorsing our resolution--be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
Alzheimer's Association,
November 19, 2013.
Senator Susan Collins,
U.S. Senate, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, DC.
Senator Amy Klobuchar,
U.S. Senate, Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, DC.
Dear Senator Collins and Senator Klobuchar: On behalf of
the Alzheimer's Association and its nationwide network of
advocates, thank you for your continued leadership on issues
and legislation important to Americans with Alzheimer's and
their caregivers. The Alzheimer's Association proudly
endorses your most recent Alzheimer's resolution, which
supports the goals of the National Plan to Address
Alzheimer's Disease and increased funding for Alzheimer's
research at the National Institutes of Health.
The Alzheimer's Association is the world's leading
voluntary health organization in Alzheimer's care, support
and research. Our mission is to eliminate Alzheimer's disease
and other dementias through the advancement of research; to
provide and enhance care and support for all affected; and to
reduce the risk of dementia through the promotion of brain
health. Our vision is a world without Alzheimer's.
As two of our nation's strongest voices on behalf of
Americans living with Alzheimer's, you know that more than 5
million Americans are living with the disease, and without
significant action, as many as 16 million Americans will have
Alzheimer's by 2050. A recent study funded by the National
Institutes of Health and published in the New England Journal
of Medicine further confirmed that Alzheimer's disease is the
most expensive disease in America. Additionally, as the baby
boomer generation ages, one in eight will develop
Alzheimer's. This explosive growth will cause Alzheimer's
costs to Medicare and Medicaid to increase from $142 billion
today to more than $800 billion in 2050 (in today's dollars)
and threatens to bankrupt families, businesses and our health
care system. Unfortunately, our work is only growing more
urgent.
The passage of the National Alzheimer's Project Act in
2010, and the subsequent release of the National Plan to
Address Alzheimer's Disease, marks a new era for Alzheimer's
disease and other dementias. Achieving the first goal of the
National Plan, to prevent and effectively treat Alzheimer's
disease by 2025, and supporting individuals with the disease
and their caregivers are critical to the success of this
legislation. The Alzheimer's Association strongly supports
efforts to increase funding for Alzheimer's research at the
National Institutes of Health, and we applaud you for your
efforts.
The Alzheimer's Association deeply appreciates your
continued leadership on behalf of all Americans living with
Alzheimer's. If you have any questions about this or any
other legislation, please contact Rachel Conant, Director of
Federal Affairs, at [email protected] or at 202.638.7121.
Sincerely,
Robert Egge,
Vice President, Public Policy.
____
US Against Alzheimer's,
Washington, DC, November 19, 2013.
Hon. Susan Collins,
U.S. Senate, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, DC.
Hon. Amy Klobuchar,
U.S. Senate, Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, DC.
Dear Sen. Collins & Sen. Klobuchar: On behalf of the more
than five million Americans currently struggling with
Alzheimer's disease and the millions of family caregivers
working each and every day to care for their loved ones, I am
writing to thank you for your powerful resolution declaring
our national goal of preventing and effectively treating
Alzheimer's disease by 2025 an urgent national priority. I
also applaud you for including in this resolution the call to
double the National Institutes of Health (NIH) research
commitment to Alzheimer's disease in Fiscal Year 2015 and to
meet by FY 2019 the $2 billion in annual Alzheimer's research
funding metric called for by the Advisory Council on
Alzheimer's Research, Care and Services. USAgainstAlzheimer's
is pleased to endorse your resolution and to commit to
working with you to build cosponsors.
Three years ago, Congress took the bold action of enacting
the National Alzheimer's Project Act which led to the
development of the National Plan to Address Alzheimer's
Disease and the 2025 goal. Much has occurred in the ensuing
period, including the reallocation of some NIH research
dollars to focus on Alzheimer's disease. But despite these
efforts, our annual Alzheimer's research budget remains at
about $500 million--one quarter of the $2 billion in annual
funding leading Alzheimer's researchers and the advisory
council have deemed the minimum necessary to enhance our
chances of achieving the 2025 goal.
As your resolution so ably notes, the United States does
not have a choice as to whether or not we will pay for
Alzheimer's disease. We are paying today, dearly, in the more
than $140 billion in annual costs of care borne by the
taxpayers through Medicare and Medicaid, an amount that will
escalate sharply over the years if the current trajectory of
the disease is left unchanged. The amount we invest annually
in Alzheimer's research today is but a fraction of 1 percent
of this total care burden, an amount that is simply
insufficient given the enormity of the task at hand. While a
bold and visionary plan and 2025 goal are important political
statements, absent commensurate resources and the necessary
focused national leadership, the plan and goal will be worth
precious little.
By urging that our 2025 goal be viewed as a national
priority and setting the $2 billion goal over the next five
years, you have provided our nation--and your fellow
appropriators--with a clear goal at which to aim. I applaud
you for recognizing the plight of our current patients as
well as caregivers the need to similarly bolster patient and
caregiver support initiatives. We look forward to working
with you to engage the Senate Appropriations Committee to
ensure that your call for a doubling of Alzheimer's research
funding at the NIH in FY 2015 is reflected in key spending
bills.
I thank you, again, for your leadership and for all you do
to stop Alzheimer's disease.
Sincerely,
George Vradenburg,
Chairman.
Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I am very pleased that my colleague
Senator Klobuchar, who has been such a leader in this area, has joined
me on the Senate floor and I yield the floor to her.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Minnesota.
Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Mr. President, I thank my colleague Senator Collins
for her great leadership for so long on this issue. We have together
authored this resolution, and she has been a true champion for those
suffering from this debilitating disease.
Our resolution builds on the legacy of work and research that has
been done in America. It declares the prevention and effective
treatment of Alzheimer's by 2025 an urgent national priority and calls
for enhanced resources necessary to achieve this goal.
There is no better time than now to discuss this critical issue and
draw attention to this disease because, as my colleague from Maine
noted, November is Alzheimer's Disease Awareness and Family Caregivers
Month. President Reagan made this designation back in 1983 to raise
awareness about the devastating impacts of Alzheimer's disease on
patients and their caregivers.
Alzheimer's presents one of the toughest medical, economic, and
social challenges of this country. We all know we are seeing a doubling
of the senior population in this country--some call it a silver
tsunami, and, of course, it is a positive. More and more people are
living long and longer. But we also know we are seeing more and more
people who are living with very difficult diseases, and one of them, in
fact the leading one, is Alzheimer's.
This disease takes an incredibly enormous toll, both on patients as
well as those who must sit helplessly by and watch as the disease
progresses and slowly takes away a loved one.
Right now close to 5.2 million Americans are living with this
disease, including nearly 100,000 people in my home State of Minnesota.
These numbers will grow dramatically. If we continue on the same
trajectory we are on now, by 2050 an estimated 16 million Americans
will be living with this disease. That is an increase of almost 320
percent over what we see today--320 percent over what we see today.
The financial cost of providing care for people afflicted by the
disease is staggering for families, for our health care system, and of
course for the Federal budget.
In 2013 we will spend $203 billion caring for individuals with
Alzheimer's. Medicare and Medicaid will bear about 70 percent of these
costs. By 2050 we will be paying more than $1.2 trillion to care for
people with Alzheimer's.
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We also know it is tough on caregivers. They suffer an emotional and
physical toll that results in a higher incidence of chronic conditions
for themselves.
In 2012 more than 15 million family members, spouses, children, and
friends in the United States provided care to an adult with
Alzheimer's. The unpaid care is valued at more than $216 billion.
So many of the people, friends of mine, who are involved in this care
also have their own children. That is why we call them the sandwiched
generation. They are literally sandwiched in between caring for their
aging parents and caring for a child.
Just as the country addressed the needs of working moms and dads in
the 1970s, we must now address the needs of working sons and daughters.
This is a critical piece of the puzzle in taking on the Alzheimer's
challenge.
Most important, our resolution is about the lives that could be
improved with better treatments and cures. Earlier this year I met with
30 Minnesotans who were here in Washington, DC, each having been
touched by Alzheimer's. I have been at rallies. I have seen those
purple shirts in our State. Thousands and thousands of people gathered
to say: We want a cure. We want better treatments. We do not want to
lose our loved ones like this.
One way we can help stem the tide of this devastating disease is
through research. As my colleague from Maine mentioned, the Mayo Clinic
does fine research in this area. They have found ways to identify
Alzheimer's earlier through testing. At first you might say: How does
that help to get a cure? How are we ever going to know what treatments
work best and what a cure is if we cannot first identify it at early
stages so we can then see improvements? Because if we identify it too
late, you are never able to test to see if treatments work. The
University of Minnesota is also doing outstanding research on mice--
prize-winning research.
Here is the fact of any of these numbers. We all remember this is not
just about the numbers; it is about the people. But if there is any
number to remember, it is this: If we were able to delay the onset of
Alzheimer's by just 5 years--5 years--we would be able to cut the
government spending on Alzheimer's care by almost half in 2050--almost
half.
I see Mr. Durbin, also a leader in this area, the Senator from
Illinois, out on the floor. He knows what we are talking about with the
budget, the kind of money we are going to need to help our kids to make
our country a better place. Just think of what we could do with that
money if we could reduce the spending on this debilitating disease by
half by 2050.
The answers on Alzheimer's will not just drop from the sky. It will
take dedicated scientists, advanced research initiatives, and skilled
doctors to conduct the trials and care for as many patients as possible
until we finally put an end to the disease.
That is what this is about. A friend of mine is in town today,
commissioner Mike Opat from Hennepin County. Hennepin County has the
biggest public hospital in Minnesota, and as county attorney I used to
represent that hospital. I know what this means for their budget every
single day, as people who could have been cured or people who could
have had the onset of the disease be delayed have suffered and have
been in the hospital and have been on the taxpayer dime. Of course we
are going to take care of them, but there are so many other things this
money could be used for.
The Advisory Council on Alzheimer's Research, Care, and Services--
which is led by Dr. Ronald Petersen, a Minnesotan and a leading
researcher on Alzheimer's--has acknowledged that in order to reach the
goal of effectively treating Alzheimer's disease by 2025, our country
must invest $2 billion per year. It sounds like a lot of money but not
with these other figures I just put out there; that $1.2 trillion in
treatment, the doubling of the number of seniors whom we are seeing by
2030--$2 billion per year.
That is why Senator Collins and I have joined together to submit this
resolution which resolves that the Senate will strive to double the
funding the United States spends on Alzheimer's research in 2015 and
develop a plan to meet the target of $2 billion a year over the next 5
years.
Today we spend approximately $500 million per year on Alzheimer's, as
noted by my colleague. So we have a long way to go to meet this goal.
It is not easy. But in the long term, it will save us money, it will
save lives, and it will make for a better world for literally millions
of people in this country and around the world.
I urge my colleagues to join Senator Collins and me in supporting
this important resolution.
____________________