Paul Tonko: “Yes. I again thank the gentleman from California for bringing us together this evening for discussion on what I believe…”

“Yes. I again thank the gentleman from California for bringing us together this evening for discussion on what I believe are very high-priority items that face us in this Congress. I think it is important for us to speak with that anecdotal evidence and to put a human face on all of these discussions. We talk about illnesses like Alzheimer's, dementia, and neurologically based issues. There is also an issue of the illness of addiction that can be benefited; it can be responded to by research. So my pledge always to my district and, similarly, their request of me is to provide for that human empathy, provide for those stories, the countless stories of individuals who walk the journey that is so very difficult and how they could be assisted simply by the burning sense of hope that we can address, that we can bring to their lives, this focus and this commodity of hope that provides them the extra energy and the ability to walk their journey, walk straight through the bit of difficulty that faces them. {time} 2015 We are a great Nation. We can be made even greater by our intellect investing in research, investing in student loan reform, and investing in Alzheimer's, a disease that can bankrupt the system. These are wise choices driven by human compassion and responded to, I hope, with a passion that you hear from the gentleman from California (Mr.…”