Senators Collins and Klobuchar Call On Congress to Make Fighting Alzheimer's Disease an Urgent National Priority

Press Release

Citing the devastating emotional and economic toll that Alzheimer's disease takes on more than five million Americans and their families, Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) today unveiled a bipartisan Senate Resolution declaring that the goal of preventing and effectively treating Alzheimer's by 2025 is an "urgent national priority." The Resolution, which was introduced during Alzheimer's Disease Awareness Month, recognizes that dramatic increases in research funding are necessary to meet that goal and resolves that the Congress should strive to double the amount of funding the United States spends on Alzheimer's research in 2015, as well as develop a plan to meet the target of $2 billion a year as recommended by the experts on the federal Alzheimer's Advisory Council.

Senator Collins said, "Like many families who have experienced the pain of Alzheimer's, I know that there is no more helpless feeling than to watch the progression of this devastating disease. Alzheimer's disease is the only cause of death among the top ten in our nation without a way to prevent it, cure it, or even slow its progression."

Senator Collins explained that if our nation fails 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. Senator Collins added, "At a time when the cost to Medicare and Medicaid of caring for Alzheimer's patients is $142 billion a year, we are only spending slightly more than $500 million on Alzheimer's research. Surely we must do more for Alzheimer's research given the tremendous human and economic price of this devastating disease."

The Alzheimer's Association, Maine Chapter applauded Senator Collins' efforts.

"The Alzheimer's Association, Maine Chapter is so appreciative of Senator Collins for her leadership on this issue. We estimate that more than 37,000 Maine families are living with this devastating disease and that, as the baby boomer generation in Maine continues to age, thousands more families will face it in the coming years," said Executive Director Laurie Trenholm. "Senator Collins recognizes that this is a critical issue for the people of Maine and this country. We strongly support her resolution to increase funding for research as it represents a commitment to our vision of a world without Alzheimer's disease. There are countless volunteer advocates here in Maine who are working alongside the Senator towards this vision and we are so proud that Maine is leading this fight."

In 2010, Senator Collins was coauthor of the National Alzheimer's Project Act, which authorized the National Plan to Address Alzheimer's Disease. The National Plan has as its primary goal, to "prevent and effectively treat Alzheimer's disease by 2025." The Chairman of the Advisory Council 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 in order to reach that goal.

The Resolution has also been endorsed by the Alzheimer's Association and USAgainstAlzheimer's, leading national advocacy groups.

Since 1980, the year that President Reagan declared the month of November as "Alzheimer's Disease Awareness Month," the number of Americans who suffer from the disease has more than doubled. Based on current projections, as many as 16 million Americans over the age of 65 will have the disease by 2050. In addition to the human suffering it causes, Alzheimer's costs the United States more than $200 billion a year. If nothing is done to slow or stop the disease, the Alzheimer's Association estimates that the disease will cost the United States and astonishing $20 trillion over the next forty years.

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