Bipartisan Group of Senators Call on Trump to Boost Alzheimer's Funding

Senators from both parties are urging President Trump to increase funding for Alzheimer's research in his fiscal 2019 budget, reports The Hill . "At a time when the United States is spending more than $200 billion a year to care for people with Alzheimer's, we are spending less than two thirds of 1 percent of that amount on research," says the senators' letter to the president. "Although we have made progress in increasing funding, Alzheimer's research funding remains disproportionately low compared to its human and economic toll." The goal of the National Plan to Address Alzheimer's Disease is preventing and treating the disease by 2025. A bill passed in 2011 set up an Alzheimer's panel of experts, which has estimated that $2 billion is needed annually to help meet that goal. The Senate proposed boosting Alzheimer's research by $414 million in its fiscal 2018 bill, bringing the total budget to $1.8 billion. However, the measure has not been approved, as Congress has been passing short-term funding measures in view of fierce partisan bickering over federal funding. "Federal funding for Alzheimer's research is a wise investment," argue the senators in their letter to Trump. "We urge you to support efforts to meet the research investment objective set forth in the National Plan by boosting the current investment in Alzheimer's research in the fiscal year 2019 budget request."