Two bills that aim to renew the nation’s commitment to healthy aging and funding Alzheimer’s research have unanimously passed in the Senate.
The National Alzheimer’s Project (NAPA) Reauthorization Act (S. 133 / H.R. 619) and the Alzheimer’s Accountability and Investment Act (S. 134 / H.R. 620) now head to the floor of the US House of Representatives.
Robert Egge, Alzheimer’s Association chief public policy officer and Alzheimer’s Impact Movement president, said in a Tuesday statement that the bills could ensure that the nation continues making progress in the fight against Alzheimer’s and all other dementias.
“Together, the NAPA Reauthorization Act and the Alzheimer’s Accountability and Investment Act will work to ensure the critical work of the National Plan to Address Alzheimer’s Disease continues to improve the lives of those impacted by Alzheimers throughout the nation,” Egge said.
Alzhiemer’s ranks as the seventh leading cause of death in the country, with almost 7 million Americans living with the disease at a cost of $360 billion last year alone, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. Forty-two percent of assisted living residents have diagnosed dementia, according to the federal government.
“Reauthorization of NAPA and the Alzheimer’s Accountability Investment Act would ensure our country is maintaining momentum in our fight against Alzheimer’s, just as our investments in research are beginning to translate into promising new treatments,” Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) said in a statement. Collins was an author of both pieces of legislation.
The NAPA Reauthorization Act would reauthorize NAPA through 2035 to provide a roadmap for federal efforts in responding to Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. NAPA, set to expire next year, was signed into law in 2011 and established the Advisory Council on Alzheimer’s Research, Care and Services. The act emphasizes the importance of healthy aging and risk reduction for Alzheimer’s disease to reflect the sixth goal of the National Plan to Address Alzheimer’s Disease, which was updated in December.
The bill also would add new federal representatives to the NAPA Advisory Council from the Department of Justice, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Social Security Administration.
Renewal of the Alzheimer’s Accountability and Investment Act, signed into law in 2015, would continue to prioritize Alzheimer’s and dementia research funding at the National Institutes of Health by requiring NIH scientists to continue to submit annual professional judgment budgets to Congress.
In August 2022, NIH researchers requested an additional $321 million in fiscal year 2024 for research into Alzheimer’s and other dementias. Alzheimer’s research funding has seen a seven-fold increase since passage of NAPA in 2011. Today, funding for research into Alzheimer’s and other dementias totals more than $3.5 billion.
