{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.markey.senate.gov/news/press-releases/senators-markey-and-collins-call-for-increased-alzheimers-funding-in-federal-spending-bill", "Senators Markey And Collins Call For Increased Alzheimer’s Funding In Federal Spending Bill", "2014-12-05", "2014", "2014-12", "Democrat", "House", "MA", "Edward Markey", "M000133", "www.markey.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Senators Markey And Collins Call For Increased Alzheimer\u2019s Funding In Federal Spending Bill \n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tFriday, December 5, 2014\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\r\nSenators Press for $100 Million Increase in\u00a0National Institute of Aging Funding\r\n\r\n\r\nWASHINGTON, DC\u2014Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Edward J. Markey (D-MA), who co-chair the Bipartisan Congressional Task Force on Alzheimer\u2019s Disease and have been leaders in the effort to increase federal funds directed to the disease, are calling on the Senate Appropriations Committee to include in the final FY 2015 spending package a $100 million increase in funding for the National Institute on Aging (NIA). The increase in spending would be above FY 2014 levels and help to further advance research to better prevent and treat Alzheimer\u2019s disease, which affects 5.2 million Americans. The Senators have also called for greater support for Alzheimer\u2019s public health and caregiver programs.\u00a0\r\n\r\nThe increased funding that Senators Collins and Markey support would build upon $100 million for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for Alzheimer\u2019s research that was included in last year\u2019s Omnibus spending bill. The Senators support a national goal of preventing and effectively treating Alzheimer\u2019s disease by 2025 and believe this increased funding would help advance that goal.\u00a0\r\n\r\nA text of the letter that Senators Collins and Markey recently sent to leaders of the Senate Appropriations Committee follows:\r\n\r\nDear Chairman Mikulski and Ranking Member Shelby:\r\n\r\nAs you work to assemble a final FY 2015 spending package, we urge you to include the $100 million increase above FY 2014 levels for the National Institute on Aging (NIA) that the Senate included in its draft Labor, HHS and Education Appropriations bill.\u00a0 We also urge you to include within the final legislation the resources provided in the Senate draft bill to support Alzheimer\u2019s public health and caregiver programs, and that you consider potential opportunities to increase further any of these amounts.\r\n\r\nIn addition to the human suffering it causes, Alzheimer\u2019s poses tremendous health and economic challenges for our nation.\u00a0 Alzheimer\u2019s is the nation\u2019s third leading cause of death behind only heart disease and cancer, and the only disease in the top ten without an effective way to prevent it, cure it, or even slow its progression.\u00a0 At a time when Alzheimer\u2019s is costing $214 billion a year, including $150 billion in costs to Medicare and Medicaid, we are spending less than $600 million a year on Alzheimer\u2019s research.\r\n\r\nThe Committee has already laid a foundation toward meeting the challenges posed by Alzheimer\u2019s.\u00a0 Thanks to the increased support for Alzheimer\u2019s provided in the Fiscal Year 2014 Omnibus Appropriations bill, the National Institutes of Health is supporting a number of cutting-edge Alzheimer\u2019s research projects.\u00a0 Including an additional $100 million increase above the Fiscal Year 2014 level will move us closer to the level of annual public research funding leading Alzheimer\u2019s disease researchers have estimated is needed to maximize our chances of achieving the national goal of preventing and effectively treating Alzheimer\u2019s disease by 2025.\u00a0 It will also demonstrate further the resolve behind our national goal, particularly at a time when other nations are looking to the United States for leadership and are beginning to take similar measures.\u00a0\r\n\r\nWe understand the challenges you face in finalizing the FY 15 appropriations package.\u00a0 While our country faces serious economic challenges, supporting individuals with Alzheimer\u2019s and other dementias and their caregivers is both a moral imperative and fiscal necessity.\r\n\r\n####", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.markey.senate.gov/news/press-releases/senators-markey-and-collins-call-for-increased-alzheimers-funding-in-federal-spending-bill"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4208829961717129, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}