Alzheimer's

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. TONKO. Well, thank you, Representative Garamendi, for leading us in a very important discussion during this Special Order. There is no denying that all of us, Members of the House and beyond, if you are to ask individuals out there across this country if Alzheimer's or dementia issues have impacted their family, the immediate response is absolutely.

I think all of us have been touched by those devastating impacts, those outcomes that befell our loved ones, and the ripple effect onto that circle of family and friends. It is devastating. You in a sense lose that individual, and it is a very painful process certainly for those individuals living with Alzheimer's and dementia, and for their immediate families and loved ones and caregivers who watch as they painfully travel the journey with those individuals. So I think for us to take that human element, that impact and that dynamic, and put it into working order, we would be well served to acknowledge that Alzheimer's is the most expensive disease in America. It is driving bankruptcy if it goes unaddressed. And when one in every five Medicare dollars is spent on a person with Alzheimer's or dementia, the warning signals should be out there for sounder budgeting, to put our focus on a cure, on research, on developing those opportunities that will bend the cost curve, so to speak, that will enable us to address with dignity and common sense and economic sustainability the issues of Alzheimer's and dementia.

The impact upon our culture is so much so the economic drain is at about $214 billion in 2014. That is an immense economic toll that is placed upon budgets, be they Medicare, Medicaid, local budgets, or not-for-profits that make it their goal to best serve individuals, especially in their elderly years, and to be able to assist in that effort by advancing the efforts of the study of the brain that have been initiated by this President, by President Obama and his administration, is a very, very worthy investment.

It will tell us much about several diseases out there and allow us to again approach an issue with dignity and facts at our fingertips that will then provide for the best prioritization of how to respond to those issues.

Now, much has been said about research here tonight, and rightfully so. It is very critical that we, you know, grow the investment on research. I have participated in our annual town halls that are called for in the National Alzheimer's Project Act, and that National Alzheimer's Project Act requires that we gather together to understand how well the services are coming together, what the needs are, and how we plan appropriately for ongoing budgets.

There you receive, all of us, the very disturbing testimony that reaches us, impacts our thinking, and certainly speaks to our hearts and souls about what we need to do, painful journeys that individuals have made. I can vividly recall a high school friend mentioning that her husband no longer knew her name but knew her voice. These are painful bits of testimony to absorb, and they motivate us. They ought to motivate us and challenge us to move more quickly in this effort to fund research and find a cure and find better treatments.

The efforts that I think are important here that follow the National Alzheimer's Project Act is to put together a more clinical response, and I think the Alzheimer's Accountability Act, which I have cosponsored, allows for H.R. 4351 to respond to the Alzheimer's planning in a way that clinicians and those directly involved in the service delivery system to the Alzheimer's community, they will advise what those budgeted amounts should look like in an annual effort from here to the threshold year of 2025. That is an absolute essential.

I applaud our efforts here in the House with Representative Guthrie and others--as I said, I am a cosponsor--looking to make certain that we have a much more accountable, logistic, well-planned, and professional-driven estimate that will move us forward with each and every budget year to respond to this crisis in America, and it indeed is at crisis proportion.

So Representative Garamendi, these are efforts that I think need to be made. The commitment that starts with the human element, the compassion that needs to be expressed on behalf of the people of this country via this House, via Congress, both Houses speaking to a legitimate request that authorizes the investment in research, that puts together a plan that is run by clinicians that advise the United States Government as to how to best respond, what those levels, those thresholds should be from now to the benchmark year of 2025, and to make certain that we do it all within our professional capacity in harnessing the resources that are required.

We grow, we cultivate an intellectual capacity in this country of which we are very proud, and one that should serve us abundantly well, and it is important to
have our hearts and souls measure that opportunity, to put together the best blueprint for addressing this crisis. Let's move forward with a sound, resounding commitment of support to these individuals and their caregivers.

You know, when we look at the statistics out there, one in nine over the age of 65 is impacted by Alzheimer's, one in three in age category 85-plus. And guess what? That is the fastest-growing age demographic in our country. So in order to plan and plan well for the onslaught of baby boomers who will enter into these given demographics, we need to make commitments, and we need to again bend that cost curve by investing now in research, preventative therapies, and certainly study of the brain, efforts that are promoted by the President and the administration to make certain that we can move forward effectively and compassionately and allow for the best choices to be made.

So I thank you for leading us in this very important discussion, Representative Garamendi, and I am convinced that with the facts at our fingertips and with the elements of compassion and dignity that should respond to the Alzheimer's community, we can get these important measures achieved.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source