{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.markey.senate.gov/news/press-releases/senators-markey-capito-collins-van-hollen-introduce-bill-to-support-alzheimers-research", "Senators Markey, Capito, Collins, Van Hollen Introduce Bill to Support Alzheimer\u2019s Research", "2026-07-24", "2026", "2026-07", "Democrat", "Senate", "MA", "Edward J. Markey", "M000133", "www.markey.senate.gov", "markey", "https://www.markey.senate.gov/news/press-releases", "scraper", "Bill Text (PDF)\n\nWashington (July 24, 2026) - Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Ranking Member of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Subcommittee on Primary Health and Retirement Security, along with Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.V.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), introduced legislation to reauthorize the United States Postal Service (USPS) Alzheimer\u2019s research stamp for an additional six years, allowing more funds to be raised for Alzheimer\u2019s research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).\n\nSemipostal stamps are sold by the U.S. Postal Service and are priced above the cost of postage to raise funds for causes of public interest, as directed by Congress. The U.S. Postal Service first issued the Alzheimer\u2019s semipostal stamp in 2017 and has since sold over 11 million stamps in support of Alzheimer\u2019s research.\n\n\u201cMy mother fought Alzheimer\u2019s for thirteen years. My family\u2019s story mirrors that of millions of Americans awaiting better treatments and a cure for this terrible disease,\u201d said Senator Markey. \u201cI am proud to lead the reauthorization of the Alzheimer\u2019s semipostal stamp, which has raised almost $2 million for Alzheimer\u2019s research. Every letter sent with an Alzheimer\u2019s stamp offers hope to families, and gets us one step closer to a cure.\u201d\n\n\u201cReauthorizing the Alzheimer's semipostal stamp will both maintain a source of funding for critically important Alzheimer\u2019s research and will also help honor the memory and courage of those who have faced this heartbreaking disease directly. I have long been dedicated to pursuing a cure for Alzheimer\u2019s disease, and I\u2019m proud to join my colleagues to continue this initiative through the USPS,\u201d said Senator Capito.\n\n\u201cAlzheimer\u2019s is one of the greatest public health challenges of our time, affecting more than seven million Americans, including more than 29,000 people in Maine,\u201d said Senator Collins. \u201cAs a founder of the Alzheimer\u2019s Task Force and Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I recently secured a $100 million increase for Alzheimer\u2019s disease and related dementias research, bringing total annual funding to nearly $4 billion. By allowing Americans to continue to purchase Alzheimer\u2019s research stamps, this bipartisan legislation would build on that funding and support NIH\u2019s efforts to combat this devastating disease.\u201d\n\n\u201cCountless families in Maryland and across our country are facing the pain and loss that Alzheimer\u2019s leaves in its wake. I\u2019ve fought to increase investments in critical research on this disease, and the Alzheimer\u2019s semipostal stamp is a key step towards building on those efforts. That\u2019s why I worked to create this stamp, and why it\u2019s important we pass this bipartisan bill to keep it in circulation for years to come as we continue our fight to defeat Alzheimer\u2019s once and for all,\u201d said Senator Van Hollen.\n\nThe Alzheimer\u2019s semipostal stamp reauthorization is cosponsored by Senators Mark Warner (D-Va.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Jim Justice (R-W.V.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.).\n\nThe legislation is endorsed by Alzheimer\u2019s Foundation of America, Alzheimer\u2019s Association, Alzheimer\u2019s Impact Movement, and Gerontological Society of America.\n\n\u201cThe Alzheimer\u2019s Foundation of America wholeheartedly supports the Alzheimer\u2019s Semipostal Stamp Reauthorization Act and is grateful to Senator Markey, Senator Collins, Senator Van Hollen, and Senator Capito for introducing it,\u201d said Charles J. Fuschillo, Jr., President and CEO of the Alzheimer\u2019s Foundation of America. \u201cSince its inception, the sale of over 11 million Alzheimer\u2019s semipostal stamps raised crucial funds for Alzheimer\u2019s disease research and heightened public awareness about a disease impacting more than 7 million Americans.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe Alzheimer\u2019s Semipostal Stamp Reauthorization Act preserves a simple but powerful way for Americans to fund the search for treatments and, ultimately, a cure, while raising awareness of the disease with every letter sent. Every family living with Alzheimer\u2019s knows what this disease takes \u2014 not just from the person diagnosed, but from everyone who loves them \u2014 and continued research funding is how we give future generations a different outcome than the one families face today,\u201d said Robert Egge, Alzheimer\u2019s Association Chief Public Policy Officer and AIM President. \u201cWe\u2019re grateful to Senator Markey, Senator Collins, Senator Van Hollen, and Senator Capito for their bipartisan leadership on this bill and their continued commitment to the Alzheimer's and dementia community.\u201d\n\nSenator Markey, as founder and co-Chair of the Bipartisan Congressional Task Force on Alzheimer\u2019s Disease, is a leader in the fight to find a cure for Alzheimer\u2019s disease and to support family caregivers.\n\nOn July 15, Senator Markey applauded the Senate\u2019s unanimous passage of the Older Americans Act (OAA) Reauthorization Act, which included provisions from the Senator\u2019s \u201cCaring for Caregivers\u201d agenda including expanding respite care options for family caregivers to older adults who need long-term care. The OAA reauthorization also included provisions from Senator Markey\u2019s Alleviating Barriers for Caregivers Act which requires federal agencies to help family caregivers access government support by improving processes, procedures, forms, and communications.\n\nIn April 2026, Senator Markey introduced a package of legislation during Earth Week, including bills to protect seniors by enabling safer and more resilient homes.\n\nIn 2025, Senator Markey reintroduced his \u201cCaring for Caregivers\u201d legislative agenda of six bills to support family caregivers\u2019 economic, physical, and emotional health through financial literacy resources, expansion of peer support services and respite care, and access to medically tailored meals.\n\nIn 2024, Senator Markey was a lead of the NAPA Reauthorization Act and the Alzheimer\u2019s Accountability and Investment Act(AAIA), which were both signed into law. In the House of Representatives, Markey co-authored the National Alzheimer\u2019s Project Act (NAPA), which mandated the development of a first-ever comprehensive National Plan to Address Alzheimer\u2019s Disease. The plan represented a historic commitment by the federal government to tackling the disease.\n\n###", 1, "2026-07-25T07:13:44Z", "2026-07-25T07:15:09Z"]], "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-capito-collins-van-hollen-introduce-bill-to-support-alzheimers-research"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.275455044582486, "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"}