[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 8]
[House]
[Pages 11374-11378]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE RESEARCH INVESTMENT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 3, 2013, the gentleman from California (Mr. Garamendi) is 
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.
  Mr. GARAMENDI. Mr. Speaker, we have just heard a very interesting 1 
hour on an issue that is important, and I would like to bring to this 
floor another issue that affects every American family either directly 
or indirectly, but in a very profound, and in most cases, a very sad, 
very sad way. One in five American seniors are affected by this disease 
called Alzheimer's.
  I know it has affected my family. My wife's mother at the age of 92 
died of Alzheimer's. She spent the last 2 years of her life living with 
my wife and me in our home, where we were able to provide care for her. 
I think that that is just one story among the millions of American 
families that are trying to find a way of dealing with this devastating 
disease.
  In the last years of her life, my mother-in-law always had what 
seemed to be a bright outlook. She was never a complainer, and she 
always seemed to recognize her grandchildren, particularly the very 
young grandchildren. I will never forget a day where our youngest 
grandchild--her youngest great-grandchild--was climbing into bed with 
her, and my mother-in-law was, what I thought, was babbling. And that 
young child who could just barely speak was translating in a very real 
way what my mother-in-law was saying. It was my wife and I that were 
unable to understand. Just one moment in a long period of time that my 
mother-in-law lived with us in her final years.
  This story is replicated time after time across America. One in five 
seniors will have Alzheimer's and will die of it.
  If we take a look at the well known diseases that affect Americans, 
here is the death rate: cancer, clearly, clearly a problem. Heart 
disease, cancer, and stroke. Over the last 10 years, we are seeing a 
decline in the death rate for all of these well known and devastating 
diseases. We have seen the progress of research and the application of 
medical practices to these diseases, cancer, heart disease, and stroke, 
all declining, stroke by some 23 percent. HIV/AIDS, another devastating 
disease in this country, an incredible 42 percent decline in the death 
rate between 2000 and 2010.
  And here is Alzheimer's, the same period of time, a 68 percent 
increase. My mother-in-law was one of the people that made up this 
statistic.
  Deaths from major diseases. This is a clear indication of what 
happens when the public, acting through Congress, and governments, 
State, local, and private organizations, put their shoulder to the 
wheel and decide that it is time to do something about cancer, heart 
disease, stroke, and HIV/AIDS.
  What is happening here? What is happening with Alzheimer's? Well, 
part of the answer is the aging population, the baby boomers. That is 
part of the answer, but it is not the complete answer.
  What does this mean to the American taxpayer and the American 
families? It means it is a very, very expensive disease. In fact, it is 
the most expensive disease in America. Medicare, the principal source 
of health insurance for the elderly, 1 in 5 dollars in Medicare is 
spent on Alzheimer's, well over $240 billion a year for Medicare and 
Medicaid alone.
  And where is this going? Well, here is where the costs are going. The 
cost of Medicare and Medicaid, 2010, $122 billion; 2022, $195 billion; 
2050, $880 billion. So what are we going to do here? Well, we are going 
to spend an awful lot of money unless we get ahead of this devastating 
disease.
  Looking at it another way, a different graph, same story, the 
skyrocketing cost of Alzheimer's care. This is not the peak, this is 
just where we stop counting in 2050. Baby boomers coming on and then 
this disease taking hold and literally bankrupting the Medicare and 
Medicaid programs.
  So what do we do? Well, here is what we are doing, a neat little 
chart here, treatment shown here, this is the Medicare portion, this is 
the Medicaid portion. We are looking at a huge expenditure, $150 
billion. This is from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
  Oh, down here, this is the comparison for research. This year, $566 
million of research. Extraordinary expense, a lot of research, but not 
nearly enough to address the problem.
  For example, back to that first graph that showed the decline in 
cancer research, HIV, heart--I wonder why it happened? Look where we 
are investing: cancer research, $5.481 billion; HIV/AIDS, $2.978 
billion; cardiovascular, $2.15 billion; Alzheimer's, $566 million.
  This is a very, very good graph. This is what happens when we invest 
in research and treatment protocols. Let me remind you of what those 
investments have meant. Cancer, decline in death rate; heart disease, 
decline in death rate; stroke, decline in death rate; HIV, decline in 
death rate. The major reason for it is the investment in research and 
treatment protocols. Cancer, HIV/AIDS, cardiovascular, Alzheimer's.
  So where are we going to go here? Are we going to stay with this and 
see an increase in Alzheimer's disease and death over the next years? 
Or are we going to go with something that can solve the problem? And 
that is investment, investment by the people of America and around the 
world in addressing this devastating illness for which today there is 
no cure, there is no way to slow down the progress, and we don't know 
when it is coming on until it is with us.
  And so families across this Nation find themselves in a devastating 
situation. I would like to recount just one devastating situation. It 
was on National Public Radio in the Sacramento

[[Page 11375]]

region. A gentleman from the State park system retired at the age of 
65, thinking that he and his wife would be able to spend their next 
years traveling, enjoying themselves and the benefit of the years of 
work they had put in.

                              {time}  2030

  His wife was 1 year younger. No sooner had he retired, his wife came 
down with early onset of Alzheimer's. The result is a devastation in 
their family, obviously, to the lady. She doesn't even know today that 
she is married to her husband of 42 years, but he cares for her, day in 
and day out, every day, 24/7.
  There are many pieces of legislation that are here in the Congress 
that deal with this caregiving situation. There is also legislation 
that would ramp up the research necessary to get at the disease to 
fully understand what it is all about and how we might treat it and 
prevent it. These pieces of legislation deserve our attention.
  Joining me tonight is a colleague from California who is carrying one 
of those pieces of legislation, a woman who has spent her entire 
career--public and private--in Congress and in the California 
legislature, addressing the problems of health care, the problems of 
the underinsured and the underserved, an incredible woman who has her 
own story to tell.
  Let me introduce to you Maxine Waters, my colleague from California.
  Ms. WATERS. I would first like to thank my colleague from California, 
Congressman John Garamendi, for this time, and I congratulate him for 
organizing this evening's Special Order on Alzheimer's disease.
  John, I would like to tell you that those charts that you just 
presented tell the story very clearly. It identifies the extent of this 
disease, and it also lays out that we need to do more with research.
  We need to invest more in research, but you also showed, for those 
diseases where we have invested in, that they have reduced the death 
rates dramatically. I think your presentation needs to be seen by 
everybody because it does paint the picture of what is going on with 
this disease.
  As the cochair of the Congressional Task Force on Alzheimer's 
Disease, I know how devastating this disease can be on patients, 
families, and caregivers. The task force works on a bipartisan basis to 
increase awareness of Alzheimer's, strengthen the Federal commitment to 
improving the lives of those affected by the disease, and assist the 
caregivers who provide their needed support.
  I am pleased that the gentleman from California (Mr. Garamendi) has 
decided to take an active role in the work of the task force, and what 
a great job he has done.
  Alzheimer's disease has touched millions of American families. 
However, most of us are probably unaware of the statistics behind the 
disease and the significant public health threat it poses to our 
Nation.
  In the United States, someone develops Alzheimer's every 67 seconds. 
According to recent data, women have a one in six estimated lifetime 
risk of developing the disease at age 65, while the risk for men is 
nearly one in 11.
  The Alzheimer's Association estimates as many as 16 million Americans 
over age 65 could suffer from Alzheimer's by 2050. It is now the fifth 
leading cause of death in California.
  Right now, nearly 15 million people--mostly family members--provide 
unpaid care for individuals with Alzheimer's or dementia, a market 
value of more than $220.2 billion.
  In California alone, approximately 1.5 million unpaid caregivers 
grapple with the tremendous challenges of Alzheimer's disease or 
dementia every day. Caregivers include spouses, children, even 
grandchildren.
  Caregivers face a variety of challenges, ranging from assisting 
patients with feeding, bathing, and dressing, to helping them take care 
of their medications, manage finances, and make legal decisions.
  I want you to know that I have friends who are taking care of both 
their father and their mother who have Alzheimer's. Caregiving is 
something that we have to pay attention to.
  We have to give support to these families because not only is it a 
tremendous responsibility that so many people are taking on--as 
compared to caregivers for other diseases, Alzheimer's caregivers 
disproportionately report being forced to miss work, reduce work hours, 
quit their jobs, and change jobs due to caregiving demands. They are 
more likely to experience financial hardship, report health 
difficulties, experience emotional stress, and suffer from sleep 
disturbance.
  These are just some of the reasons why I introduced the Alzheimer's 
Caregivers Support Act, H.R. 2975, last year. This bill authorizes 
grants to public and nonprofit organizations to expand training and 
support services for families and caregivers of Alzheimer's patients.
  With the majority of Alzheimer's patients living at home under the 
care of family and friends, it is important that we ensure these 
caregivers have access to the training and resources needed to provide 
proper care.
  The families and communities facing Alzheimer's also must deal with 
the difficult problem of wandering. According to the Alzheimer's 
Association, more than 60 percent of Alzheimer's patients are likely to 
wander away from home. In addition to being distracting for law 
enforcement, wanderers are vulnerable to dehydration, weather 
conditions, traffic hazards, and people who prey on vulnerable seniors.
  In fact, the Alzheimer's Association estimates that up to 50 percent 
of wandering Alzheimer's patients will become seriously injured or die 
if they are not found within 24 hours of their departure from home.
  To combat this, I have introduced H.R. 2976, a bill to reauthorize 
and improve the Missing Alzheimer's Disease Patient Alert Program, a 
small but effective Department of Justice program that helps local 
communities and law enforcement agencies quickly identify persons with 
Alzheimer's disease who wander or are missing and reunite them with 
their families.
  The program is a valuable resource for first responders, and it 
enables law enforcement officers to focus their attention on other 
security concerns in our communities.
  Of course, nothing can be more valuable for Alzheimer's patients, 
their families, caregivers, and communities than a cure for this 
terrible disease.
  To that end, we must significantly expand the government's 
insufficient investment in Alzheimer's research. It is essential that 
Congress appropriate robust funding for cutting-edge research at the 
National Institutes of Health.
  The private sector also has a role to play in funding Alzheimer's 
research, as do donations from concerned individuals. A simple way for 
Congress to encourage the public to contribute is to require the U.S. 
Postal Service to issue and sell a semipostal stamp, with the proceeds 
helping to fund Alzheimer's research at NIH.
  This would be similar to the popular and successful breast cancer 
research semipostal stamp. A bill to do this, H.R. 1508, was introduced 
by now-Senator Ed Markey prior to his election to the Senate, and I am 
working very hard to pass it.
  So as we continue to search for a cure, our Nation is at a critical 
crossroads that requires decisive action to ensure the safety and 
welfare of the millions of Americans with Alzheimer's disease and 
dementia.
  Together, let us commit to take every possible action to improve 
treatment for Alzheimer's patients, support caregivers, and invest in 
research to find a cure for this disease.
  Once again, I want to thank my colleague, John Garamendi from 
California, for organizing tonight's Special Order. It is important 
that we do as much as we can to educate the public, to gain widespread 
support, to make sure that we have the support that is necessary to get 
more funding for research.
  You are doing a fine job of getting us focused. I appreciate that.
  Mr. GARAMENDI. I thank Congresswoman Waters. A couple of things come 
to mind as we were talking about the research effort.

[[Page 11376]]

  We will very soon appropriate well over $80 billion--$80 billion--for 
ongoing military actions in Afghanistan. We make choices here, and it 
seems to me that we need to understand the import and the importance of 
the choices we make.
  Now, that does not include the CIA and the State Department and the 
USAID--those are additional expenses over and above that the military 
will be using--at a time when, presumably, we are pulling out of 
Afghanistan. What would $1 billion of that $80 billion mean to the 
Alzheimer's research programs here in the United States?
  Well, first of all, we shouldn't appropriate $1 billion because you 
can't ramp up that fast; but if we spread that over 2, 3, 4 years and 
go from $566 million to $1.5 billion, what could be accomplished?
  I know that, in my own district in the Sacramento Valley, the 
University of California, Davis, has a very robust and breakthrough 
opportunity on brain research. I know in your own area of Los Angeles, 
the University of California, Los Angeles, and the University of 
Southern California are, together, operating major research programs on 
the mind, on the human brain, and how it is harmed, what is it that 
sets off Alzheimer's.
  We can do this, but these are choices that your Representatives, the 
American people, your Representatives are making choices here in this 
House about how to spend your money. When one in five seniors comes 
down with Alzheimer's and we make a choice to spend $80 billion in 
Afghanistan, you should be questioning this. As to our rationality, are 
we making the right choice? I think not.
  Let me just comment on your legislation, Congresswoman Waters. Your 
Alzheimer's Caregiver Support Act, H.R. 2975, I am thinking what it 
would have meant to Patty and I as we took upon the task of caring for 
her mother.
  We really didn't know much about Alzheimer's and really didn't know 
much about the kind of care and the kind of reaction and different 
things we might do and she might do.
  It would have been so helpful to us to have had that kind of 
information available, that kind of support. Now, we got through it 
very well. We had a lot of ability to search out information, and we 
are not unique, but I think the general public who is facing this 
personal crisis of a husband or a wife--and as you said, two out of 
three are going to be women--as they face that crisis, if they had the 
support that your bill would give to them, here is what you should 
expect, here is what you can do, here is where you can get help.
  It is a good bill. We ought to pass it. We ought to pass this bill. 
So, Congresswoman Waters, thank you for doing that. If you want to 
comment back on how you came to put this bill in, what was your 
motivation? How did you come to see it, from your own experiences? I 
know you have friends and, perhaps, even family that faced this 
situation.
  Ms. WATERS. Absolutely. I have been watching for some time what 
caregivers go through in an attempt to provide the care that is needed 
by Alzheimer's patients, and you hit it on the head when you said: If 
only these individuals had had a little help in understanding the 
disease--what is it like? What is likely to happen? What can you 
anticipate? How should you react, and what can you do to get some help?
  If that information simply was available, it would be of tremendous 
help to caregivers, but in addition to that, many of the caregivers put 
their own well-being at risk in so many ways.
  Not only do they oftentimes have to lose time from work--which causes 
difficulties--but many times, the caregivers themselves have health 
problems that they are addressing that are exacerbated by the fact that 
they have additional responsibilities in giving care to their 
Alzheimer's relatives.
  Yes, I have seen a lot of this, and I know the pain that families go 
through. As I saw my own mother age--and they said: Ms. Waters, what 
you are seeing now is dementia.
  I watched this very vibrant, energetic woman, who lived to be 97 
years old, eventually go into a state of being that certainly was not 
the woman that I had known that had reared me, had been so energetic 
all of her life.
  The lapses in memory and finally, toward the end, the inability to 
recognize her family was a very traumatic and heartbreaking thing to 
see.

                              {time}  2045

  So I want for every family the ability to deal with this. I want 
their government to be of help to them. As you have said, we have got 
to get our priorities in order. That $80 billion that you mention is a 
tremendous amount of American taxpayer money that is going toward an 
effort that most of us don't even understand. There is no reason that 
we should be in this situation.
  I am looking at this chart, ``Investments in Health Research.'' That 
is shameful what I am looking at, only $566 million as compared to what 
we are putting into other diseases. We don't mind the money that is 
being put into other diseases. We see how it has reduced debt. We just 
want attention also to Alzheimer's. I think you have made it very clear 
this evening with the information that you have presented.
  Mr. GARAMENDI. Well, this chart clearly shows--clearly shows--what 
happens when you make an investment: cancer, HIV, cardiovascular. I 
remember, 20 years ago, nobody thought you could solve HIV. It was 
there and it was going to devastate the entire planet, but research--
research--paid off. While this disease is not under control and is 
still all too prevalent, there is an ability to stem the impact of it 
and to be able to live with that disease. We can make progress here.
  I am just thinking again about your piece of legislation, about the 
kind of help that people need and, really, education beyond just what 
you have talked about in your bill. Every family goes through this in 
either their own family or a neighboring family in the early onset, 
early in the progress of the disease. The change in the way in which a 
person functions and works and interacts with the family is profoundly 
disturbing to the family, even more so if the family doesn't understand 
and doesn't know what is happening.
  So the ability to diagnose Alzheimer's early becomes very, very 
important to the well-being of the family, as you said. If that family 
understands what is happening, they are better able to cope with a 
very, very difficult situation. If they have no idea and Mama or Dad 
just suddenly seems to be off in some strange and unimaginable 
direction, the family can be torn apart. I know we have seen this many, 
many places across the people that I have known over the years. But 
your bill ought to be law, and we ought to be funding those kinds of 
nonprofit and social organizations that can address and help an 
individual understand what is going on in the Alzheimer's situation.
  Another one, your second bill dealing with the Patient Alert Program, 
I remember very well a situation that occurred years ago where a 
neighbor simply wandered off and it created a community crisis: Where 
did he go? Where is he? After a couple of days, it turned out to not be 
a devastating situation. Your bill would provide assistance in tracking 
and keeping track of and finding those men and women that will and have 
wandered off. This is very much a part of this illness. So thank you 
for introducing these pieces of legislation.
  My plea to my colleagues here is let's focus on this. There are many, 
many things we focus on here. All too often it is just political one-
upmanship. This is not a Democratic issue; it is not an Republican 
issue. This is an American issue affecting nearly every American 
family. I like your legislation. I would hope the President would have 
this on his desk tomorrow morning, would sign this and get the help 
that people need.
  There are several other pieces of legislation that are also 
introduced. I would like to introduce my colleague, who is carrying a 
piece of legislation on this matter, and yield to him for his 
exposition. So if you would care to join us, we will hear from, 
actually, the other side of the aisle. It is a bipartisan 1-hour, so 
please.

[[Page 11377]]


  Mr. ROSKAM. Thank you very much. I want to thank you for yielding and 
thank the gentlewoman for yielding.
  To your point, Alzheimer's is a devastating illness, and it is 
absolutely ravaging our Nation. Five million Americans are suffering 
from it, and the cost of Alzheimer's is in the billions and billions 
and billions of dollars. In fact, there are some estimates that suggest 
it will be in the trillions of dollars between 2010 and 2050.
  There is some good news and there is some hopeful news that we are on 
the verge of some new treatments, but we need effective coordination to 
ensure that the money is spent on research that is being utilized 
effectively. The devastating cost of this disease is proof in the 
numbers.
  Nearly 1 in 5 Medicare dollars is spent on a person with Alzheimer's 
and other dementias. This year, the total cost of Alzheimer's will be 
$214 billion, including $150 billion on Medicare and Medicaid 
expenditures, and this will skyrocket in the years ahead.
  This is not just a dollars-and-cents issue. Yes, it is very 
important, and, yes, we discuss dollars and cents in this Chamber and 
we all bring strong feelings and strong opinions, but setting aside, 
for a moment, the dollars-and-cents issue, this is inextricably linked 
to the health of our families, to the health of our communities, and 
the burden that goes not just on the person who is struck with 
Alzheimer's, but the burden on the caregiver and the family that has to 
come along. It is an overwhelming thing. Frankly, it is too 
overwhelming to bear alone.
  So we all have stories of either family members or people that we are 
close to or people that we knew. I think fondly of a schoolteacher and 
a Sunday school teacher of mine growing up who was struck down by this 
disease. To watch her just atrophy over the years was an incredible 
heartache, and to watch her family come around and love her and care 
for her and do everything they could to lift that burden and to bear 
that burden alongside from her.
  Now we have an opportunity. We have an opportunity in this Chamber to 
do something that is transformational, that brings us all together, 
that brings a sense of hope and optimism and possibility about trying 
to wrestle this disease to the ground. What an incredible time to see 
the science come together in ways that transcend normal partisan 
politics, and we can put those things aside and really cling to this 
notion of giving hope to people.
  I want to thank the gentleman for his leadership. I want to thank him 
for his attention in driving this issue and to bringing all of us 
together around it. I definitely, on behalf of myself and my 
constituents in Illinois' Sixth Congressional District, want to be part 
of the solution moving forward.
  Mr. GARAMENDI. I thank you so very, very much.
  One of the challenges that I find in the House, there are 435 of us, 
and I never had the opportunity to work with you directly on 
committees. We just are not on the same committees, so I hardly know 
you, but I already like where you are headed. I like the way in which 
you speak to this issue and the way in which you show your compassion. 
I really look forward to working with you. These are bipartisan issues.
  If you just hang on a few seconds, there are about seven bills that 
have been introduced thus far. Representative Markey, who is now a 
Senator, introduced H.R. 1507, which I think one of our colleagues has 
picked up here. That deals with the Social Security Act and makes this 
illness, a comprehensive Alzheimer's disease diagnosis, part of the 
Medicare program.
  There is a bill introduced by a Republican, Mr. Guthrie. It is the 
Alzheimer's Accountability Act. This one basically says, okay, there is 
a plan. How are we doing with the plan? What is the plan to deal with 
Alzheimer's research, the support necessary? And it would require that 
a report be prepared every year so that we can keep track of progress 
or lack thereof. I like that bill because I think accountability is 
really important for us. Ultimately, these will be our decisions.
  You can jump in on any one of these you may be involved in.
  Mr. ROSKAM. I am a cosponsor of both of those pieces of legislation, 
one authored by a Republican, one authored by a Democrat.
  I think the point is there has got to be a sense of clarity. We have 
limited resources here. There is an incredible upside in the outyears 
in particular if we wrestle this disease to the ground and that notion 
of a holistic approach, because that is really what you are talking 
about. You are talking about not taking a rifle shot, not saying, well, 
let's do this, that, or the other thing, but, instead, take a step 
back, look at it in its entirety; let's use the full weight and 
influence of research dollars and health care dollars on the Federal 
side and leverage this to the best of our ability.
  If you begin to think that way about some of these problems and we 
begin to think about, well, what is it that brings us together, there 
is real optimism here. Unfortunately, people look at Congress and say 
why can't you people get along and so forth, yet they don't see maybe 
some of this type of work where we are able to come together and we are 
able to represent constituents who are struggling mightily under this.
  I think both of those bills that you referenced, I am honored to 
cosponsor them and to support the Members that are playing a leadership 
role. One of the things that you and I can do as Members of Congress is 
to bring attention to things and to talk to our colleagues and to lead 
our districts and to persuade people and try and bring people together.
  Mr. GARAMENDI. Well, we are doing some of that tonight.
  There is another one. This issue is not an American issue. This issue 
is a worldwide issue. Every society, every ethnic group in the world 
faces Alzheimer's, some more severely than others. There is another 
piece of legislation introduced by Chris Smith, who is the cochair of 
the Alzheimer's Caucus here in Congress. This one is H. Res. 489, the 
Global Alzheimer's resolution by Mr. Smith. It says it is the policy of 
the U.S. Government to encourage and facilitate the following efforts 
concerning Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia. This goes 
to the World Health Organization and other nations that are involved in 
research, the sharing of knowledge and research.
  We can, as you just said, leverage, leverage what we are doing with 
what is going on in other countries--certainly the European countries; 
we know China is doing a lot of research on this--together the whole 
world facing a common issue, and perhaps we can find a much better and 
a faster solution.
  Mr. ROSKAM. Can you imagine what it would be like if, instead of 
waiting for this disease to wake up with a slow awakening or a 
realization that either you have been struck with Alzheimer's yourself 
or you are observing this in a loved one, if, instead, there is a day 
that would come in the future where there was a cure for this and you 
are able to anticipate it and say: Look, you don't have to walk this 
journey. You don't have to walk that difficulty and that turmoil and 
bear that burden. There is something that, based on the work that 
people did in 2014 and the predecessor years and all the incredible 
progress that has been made, that there is some day in the future. That 
was sort of pie-in-the-sky talk a few years ago. That is not pie in the 
sky anymore. That is a possibility.
  If we are advancing this legislation that you referenced earlier, the 
legislation on a global basis that brings in worldwide partners that 
Congressman Smith is advocating, the cumulative effect of all of those 
things can lead to, really, a transformational moment.
  Mr. GARAMENDI. No doubt about it. There is research going on all 
around the world. Major drug companies are involved. Countries are 
doing their own research. It is all possible.
  One other bill that I would like to bring up, this one is introduced 
again by Chris Smith, and this is called the PACE Pilot Act. This is a 
program for all-inclusive care for the elderly, which currently helps 
those over 55, to provide a continuity of care and comprehensive care 
for them. It is more

[[Page 11378]]

than just Alzheimer's. We know that nursing home care is 
extraordinarily expensive. This is an effort to try and keep people in 
their home with appropriate care and support.
  So this is another piece of the puzzle, together with the two bills 
that our colleague Maxine Waters had introduced, giving us a package of 
legislation that we ought to work on.
  The other piece of legislation which is not among these bills is the 
annual appropriation bill. Last year, we increased Alzheimer's research 
by $100 million, a very, very good thing.

                              {time}  2100

  But, again, we could do much more. And if we were to do that, I am 
convinced we would be able to advance the knowledge, the early 
detection, and, as you said a moment ago, a cure for this devastating 
illness. It is there. The only thing we need is to focus our attention 
and the world's attention on this, put the money into research, and 
then we can see a solution.
  If you would care to wrap up, I have had my say on this.
  Mr. ROSKAM. I want to compliment you and say thank you to the 
gentleman from California for your leadership on this issue, your 
leadership on the Alzheimer's Task Force, and your bringing people 
together on both sides of the aisle and trying to leverage resources, 
be wise in how we do this, but recognizing the responsibility that you 
and I and our colleagues have--and that responsibility is to do 
everything that we can to try and alleviate this burden and ultimately 
drive towards a cure.
  Mr. GARAMENDI. Representative Roskam, it is a pleasure working with 
you this evening. We will call this a beginning, working across the 
aisle on a program that affects everyone and every family in this 
Nation.
  We can deal with Alzheimer's. We just need to put our shoulder to the 
wheel and push forward with the programs that we know are successful, 
many of them introduced by our colleagues here. I, too, am happy to be 
a cosponsor of all of these pieces of legislation.
  So much for this night on this very, very important piece of 
legislation. We will come back to it in a few weeks and see what 
progress has been made in perhaps the appropriations process or in the 
passage of these pieces of legislation.
  In the meantime, Mr. Speaker, we have had our discussion this evening 
on this important illness, and I yield back the balance of my time.

                          ____________________