[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 108 (Wednesday, July 6, 2016)]
[House]
[Page H4283]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ALZHEIMER'S AWARENESS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Virginia (Mr. Rigell) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. RIGELL. Mr. Speaker, I found in my public service that one of the 
great privileges of serving are the opportunities it has afforded to me 
to meet with so many amazing Americans and Virginians from all walks of 
life. Many of these occasions have been moments of great joy: greeting 
servicemembers when they have returned home from serving abroad, 
graduation ceremonies.
  There have also been moments of profound sadness and serious moments 
where not only me, but I am sure my colleagues here, have had the 
opportunity--and the difficult one--to actually meet with those who 
have lost a servicemember in service to our country or those whose 
families have really been hit so hard with a debilitating, indeed, 
fatal disease.
  One of those fatal diseases that I come to the floor this morning to 
speak about is Alzheimer's. I believe probably every Member of this 
House has been affected by it in some way; both sides. It certainly 
affected my own family.
  Alzheimer's damages and eventually destroys brain cells. It leads to 
memory loss and other challenges in brain function. It usually develops 
slowly and gradually gets worse. Ultimately, Alzheimer's is fatal.
  Every 66 seconds, Mr. Speaker, a fellow American is diagnosed with 
Alzheimer's. But let's be clear: we are not talking about statistics 
here. We are talking about people.
  To my left is the Garner family. I have learned so much from the 
Garner family about Alzheimer's. If you ever wonder if engaging your 
local Representative makes a difference; indeed, it does. This family 
is an example of that.
  This is Jim; his wife, Karen; and their two beautiful children. I got 
to know Jim when he was diagnosed in the early stages of Alzheimer's. 
He was an officer in the United States Air Force at Langley. He served 
with distinction. Alzheimer's cut that short.
  This is Frankie. Their daughter, Frankie, is amazing. She is one of 
the strongest advocates I know for a cause that she believes in. I have 
learned a lot from her and her entire family.
  Jim passed away this past April, just days before his 54th birthday. 
Karen kept a blog about her experiences, and with her permission, I 
want to read from that blog. This is Karen speaking:

       I want people to see what Alzheimer's disease does to a 
     wonderful human being. I want to break the misconception that 
     Alzheimer's disease is just old people forgetting someone's 
     name or getting lost. I want to erase the stereotypical 
     patient idea. I want the stigma that follows a diagnosis to 
     be a thing of the past.

  Well, we have got a long way to go before that is a complete reality 
across our Nation, but she and the family have helped me understand 
this. I am grateful to them and to the Alzheimer's Association for 
helping me further grasp at a deeper level just how this disease is 
harming our country.
  Now, if we look at it, here are some of the statistics that we have 
got to keep in mind. It is the sixth leading cause of death in the 
United States. Of the 10 top killers of Americans, Alzheimer's is the 
only disease that cannot be prevented, cured, or even slowed.
  The rate of diagnosis is increasing. Right now, we have about 5 
million Americans that are suffering from this disease, including 
135,000 Virginians. If we fail to act, Mr. Speaker, the number of 
Americans living with Alzheimer's could soar to as many as 16 million 
by 2020.
  I am a fiscal conservative. I am acutely aware of our fiscal 
trajectory. Yet, as I look at the cost of Alzheimer's--and it is far 
more than a cost--if we look at what is happening here statistically, 
here is where our expenses are going, Mr. Speaker. I, as a fiscal 
conservative, come to the House floor today to say that we need to be 
investing more in Alzheimer's research.
  We worked in, I think, an admirable and bipartisan way to increase 
funding to over $660 million a year. Mr. Speaker, I call for $2 
billion. It is money well invested. Some things that we invest in are 
true expenses. Other things are true investments. This is one of them.
  We should fund every program and medical research opportunity that 
shows promise. And, indeed, there are great opportunities for promise 
here. We can investigate brain imaging, biomarkers, and clinical tools 
that may result in earlier and more accurate diagnoses, timely 
interventions, and effective disease monitoring.
  If we had advanced this, we could have done a better job for Jim and 
his family's lives. We ought to really set for our country something 
like the great moon shot that my father was so an integral part of.
  Mr. Speaker, I am convinced that we can do this. We can find a cure. 
We can do right by the next generation. Keep in mind that it is not 
about statistics, but it is about people.

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