[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 16]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 21371-21372]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




INTRODUCING A BI-PARTISAN RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF AN ALZHEIMER'S SEMI-
                              POSTAL STAMP

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. EDWARD J. MARKEY

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 27, 2005

  Mr. MARKEY. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to introduce a resolution 
urging the United States Postal Service to act on a pending petition 
for an Alzheimer's Semi-Postal Stamp. I am joined by Co-chair of the 
Congressional Alzheimer's Taskforce, Representative Christopher Smith, 
Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and Representative John Boozman in a bi-
partisan effort to raise funds for Alzheimer's research through the 
issuance of a semi-postal stamp.
  The petition of support for the issuance of an Alzheimer's semi-
postal has been pending at the United States Post Office for over 4 
years. It is long overdue that we honor this petition and allow 
Alzheimer's the opportunity it deserves to benefit from this public 
awareness and fundraising campaign.
  The race to find a cure for Alzheimer's disease is now more urgent 
than ever. Four and a half million Americans, including one in 10 
people over age 65 and nearly half of those over 85, have Alzheimer's 
disease. Unless science finds a way to prevent or cure this terrible 
illness, as the baby boomers continue to age, nearly 16 million 
Americans will have Alzheimer's disease by the year 2050.
  Mr. Speaker, we need to help and give hope to those who are fighting 
the moment to moment physical, mental and behavioral battles of 
Alzheimer's every day. We need to help and give hope to the behind the 
scenes heroes--the family care-givers who selflessly offer their love 
and care. And we need to help and give hope to the researchers working 
hard to find a cure. Working together we can do more--and we must. We 
must do everything we can to ensure that one day Alzheimer's is a 
disease of the past and issuing a semi-postal stamp can help do just 
that.
  The best way to fight Alzheimer's disease and reduce the number of 
patients who suffer

[[Page 21372]]

is to find ways to prevent it before it starts. Investments we make now 
mean longer, healthier lives for all of us. If we can delay the onset 
of Alzheimer's disease by even 5 years, it would save this country 
billions of dollars--and would improve the lives of millions of 
families. We can act now to strengthen our commitment to prevent 
Alzheimer's and to finding a cure for this devastating disease.
  Semi-postal stamps are special stamps which were authorized by 
Congress as a tool for the United States Postal Service to not only 
raise funds but awareness of worthy causes. An Alzheimer's stamp would 
allow the public to directly contribute to research funds by charging a 
higher price than normal postage for the stamp and allocating most of 
the proceeds to research on this insidious and debilitating disease. We 
simply cannot afford to wait another minute, or another four years 
until we give Alzheimer's the attention and opportunity it deserves. I 
hope that the Postal Service will act and help to make a difference in 
the future by allowing us to contribute to Alzheimer's research through 
a semi-postal stamp today.

                          ____________________