Political Quotes

“I rise to ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing June as National Alzheimer's and Brain Awareness Month. Every 67 seconds someone in our country develops Alzheimer's disease. It is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States. Yet it is the only disease in the top 10 that cannot yet be prevented, cured or slowed. Of the 5.3 million Americans with Alzheimer's disease, 5.1 million are 65 and older, accounting for 96 percent of the diagnosed population. By 2050, the number of people 65 and older with Alzheimer's disease may nearly triple from 5.1 million to an estimated 13.8 million Americans. The disease will take the lives of an estimated 700,000 seniors in the United States this year, and that number is rapidly rising. While deaths from other major causes have decreased in this country, deaths from Alzheimer's disease have increased significantly. Between 2000 and 2013, deaths attributed to Alzheimer's disease increased 71 percent, while deaths attributed to heart disease, the No. 1 cause of death in the United States, decreased by 14 percent. This devastating disease is also one of our country's most expensive diseases. Nearly one in every five Medicare dollars is spent on people with Alzheimer's and other dementias. Unless something is done, by 2050 it will be $1 out of every $3. We cannot afford to overlook Alzheimer's disease. Both the human cost and the cost to our health care system are simply too great.…”