David Loebsack: “I thank the gentleman from New Jersey for yielding. Madam Speaker, there are currently 5.3 million Americans with…”

“I thank the gentleman from New Jersey for yielding. Madam Speaker, there are currently 5.3 million Americans with Alzheimer's, and the prevalence of the disease is expected to increase rapidly as the baby boomer generation, my generation, begins to age. As a degenerative disease that affects memory and other cognitive functioning, Alzheimer's can be very frustrating, both for the person afflicted and for family, friends, and caretakers. Far too many of us have lost a loved one because of this disease. It is time we find a cure for Alzheimer's. This bill is an extremely important contribution to the search for that cure. It will establish a coordinated national and international effort and accelerate research and development efforts for new treatments to prevent, stop, or reverse the course of Alzheimer's disease. The information these efforts provide will, in turn, inform priorities for future work to end this disease. I wholeheartedly support what is clearly a bipartisan bill, and I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to do the same.”