109th Congress

Alzheimer's Disease

H.R. 192, H.R. 1262, S. 602

Background

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia among older people. Four million Americans suffer from AD, including 1 in 10 people over age 65 and nearly half of those over age 85. Nineteen million Americans say that they have a family member with the disease. Without a cure, the number of Alzheimer’s patients is expected to more than triple in the next 50 years.

Provisions of the Legislation/Impact on NIH

H.R. 192, the Cure and Understanding through Research for Alzheimer’s Act of 2005 or the La Cura Act of 2005, would have authorized the doubling of National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding for AD research. The bill would have also required the Director of NIH to 1) ensure sufficient resources for AD research activities related to Hispanic communities, allocating resources to the National Institute on Aging’s AD research centers and other academic centers to increase the participation of Hispanics in research and clinical trials, and 2) expand and intensify the AD education efforts of the Institutes.

H.R. 1262 would have doubled funding for biomedical research on AD for NIH, the National Caregiver Support Program, and the Alzheimer’s Demonstration Grant Program. It would have also called on the Director of NIH to work with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and various stakeholders to develop an Alzheimer’s Disease Prevention Initiative. CDC would have been required to create an educational program, “News You Can Use,” to publicize advances in AD research.

S. 602 was the companion measure to H.R. 1262. In addition to the provisions contained in H.R. 1262, S. 602 would have also provided a tax credit of up to $3,000 for caregiving costs such as prescription drugs, home health care, and specialized day care.

Status and Outlook

H.R. 192 was introduced by Representative Linda T. Sánchez (D-CA) on January 4, 2005, and was referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. No further action occurred on this legislation during the 109th Congress.

H.R. 1262 was introduced by Representative Christopher H. Smith (R-NJ) on March 10, 2005, and was referred to the House Committees on Energy and Commerce and on Education and the Workforce. No further action occurred on this legislation during the 109th Congress.

S. 602 was introduced by Senator Barbara A. Mikulski (D-MD) on March 10, 2005, and was referred to the Senate Committee on Finance. No further action occurred on this legislation during the 109th Congress.