IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

Rigell Calls for $2 Billion
to Fight Alzheimer’s Disease 
 
“Every 66 seconds, a fellow American is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. We are not talking about statistics here. We are talking about people.” – Rep. Rigell on House floor

Washington, D.C. – This week Congressman Scott Rigell (VA-02), a passionate and vocal advocate for increased Alzheimer’s research funding, spoke from the House floor and called for $2 billion to combat the disease. Click here or the image below to watch Rigell’s full remarks.

Rigell shares Garner family's painful experience with Alzheimer's.

The full text of Rigell's speech is below:

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I found in my public service that one of the great privileges of serving is the opportunity to meet so many amazing Americans and Virginians from all walks of life. Many of these occasions have been moments of great joy, like greeting service members when they return home from serving abroad, speaking at graduation ceremonies, and more. There have also been moments of profound sadness and serious moments where I had the difficult opportunity to meet with those who have lost a service member in service to our country, or those whose families have been hit so hard with a debilitating, fatal disease. And it’s about one of those fatal diseases that I come to the House floor this morning: Alzheimer’s.

“I believe that probably every member of this House has been affected by Alzheimer’s in some way. It certainly affected my own family. Alzheimer’s damages and eventually destroys brain cells, leads to memory loss, and other challenges to brain function. It usually develops slowly and gradually gets worse. Ultimately, Alzheimer’s is fatal.

“Every 66 seconds, Mr. Speaker, a fellow American is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. We are not talking about statistics here. We are talking about people.

“To my left is the Garner family. I have learned so much about Alzheimer's from them. If you ever wonder if engaging your local representative makes a difference, it does. This family is a great example. I got to know Jim Garner when he was diagnosed with the early stages of Alzheimer’s. He was an Officer in the United States Air Force at Langley Air Force Base, where he served with distinction. Alzheimer’s cut that short.
…

“Jim passed away this past April, just days before his 54th birthday. Jim's wife, Karen, kept a blog about her experiences, and with her permission I would like to read from it. This is Karen speaking:

‘I want people to see what Alzheimer’s disease does to a wonderful human being. I want to break the misconception that Alzheimer’s disease is just old people, forgetting someone’s name, getting lost. I want to erase the stereotypical patient idea. I want the stigma that follows diagnosis to be a thing of the past.’
…

“I’m grateful to them and to the Alzheimer’s Association for helping me further grasp, at a deeper level, just how this disease is harming our country. Here are some of the statistics that we need to keep in mind: Alzheimer’s is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States. Among the top killers of Americans, Alzheimer’s is the only disease that cannot be prevented, cured, or even slowed. And the rate of diagnosis is increasing. Right now, we have about five million Americans that are suffering from this disease, including 135,000 Virginians. If we fail to act, Mr. Speaker, the number of Americans living with Alzheimer’s could soar to as many as 16 million by 2020.

“Now, I’m a fiscal conservative. I am acutely aware of our fiscal trajectory. … I, as a fiscal conservative, come to the House floor today to say that we need to be investing more in Alzheimer’s research. We worked in a really admirable, bipartisan way to increase funding to over $660 million a year.

“But Mr. Speaker, I call for $2 billion. It is money well-invested. …We should fund every program and medical research opportunity that shows promise. …And indeed, there are great opportunities here. We can investigate brain imaging and biomarkers that may result in earlier and accurate diagnoses, and in effective disease monitoring. Certainly, if we had advanced this sooner, we could have done a better job for Jim's life and for his family.
…

“Mr. Speaker, I’m convinced that we can do this. We can find a cure. We can do right by the next generation. …Mr. Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to speak on the House floor. I yield back the balance of my time.”

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