John Garamendi: “I thank you so very much for bringing up the Alzheimer's Accountability Act. The new money that goes into it, this…”

“I thank you so very much for bringing up the Alzheimer's Accountability Act. The new money that goes into it, this additional 300-plus million dollars bringing it up to some $900 million a year is accountable. There are specific plans that are needed; there is a mechanism to prioritize the expenditures--all of those things. So it is not just money that is going to be thrown out there. I am also reminded that this issue is one that is a brain issue, obviously, but that is an issue that affects our soldiers who have got PTSD, traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress syndrome, all of those things for our veterans who have come back, which, again, is an issue of the brain. If we are studying Alzheimer's, we will also be studying those issues. About 3 years ago now, in the National Defense Authorization Act, we enacted a provision that required the Department of Defense, as it goes about dealing with these terrible problems that the veterans have with post-traumatic stress or the other brain injuries, coordinate their work with other brain researchers. So we really need to understand that we have one mind, one human brain, and the research will go at it from different symptoms and different diseases, but it is still dealing with the brain. So the sharing of knowledge is a part of what this accountability act will bring forward to us. We have challenges.…”