U.S. Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) on Feb. 8 offered a bipartisan bill that would reauthorize funding for public health initiatives across the country to combat Alzheimer’s disease, which afflicts approximately 6.7 million Americans.
“Alzheimer’s disease is one of the greatest and most under-recognized public health threats of our time. Millions of Americans and thousands of Mainers are living with the disease, and that number is soaring as our overall population grows older and lives longer,” said Sen. Collins. The senator is a founder and co-chair of the Congressional Task Force on Alzheimer’s Disease, who sponsored the Building Our Largest Dementia (BOLD) Infrastructure for Alzheimer’s Reauthorization Act of 2024, S. 3775.
If enacted, S. 3775 would authorize $33 million per year, in line with current appropriations, over the next five years to support Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias Public Health Centers of Excellence; Public Health Cooperative Agreements with the the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that are awarded to state health departments to help them meet local needs in promoting brain health, reducing risk of cognitive decline, improving care for those with Alzheimer’s, and other key public health activities; and data grants to improve the analysis and timely reporting of data on Alzheimer’s, cognitive decline, caregiving, and health disparities at the state and national levels, according to a bill summary provided by the senators.
“Reauthorization of the BOLD Infrastructure for Alzheimer’s Act will ensure communities across the country have access to resources to promote effective Alzheimer’s interventions and better cognitive health that can lead to improved health outcomes,” Sen. Collins said.
S. 3775 has three original cosponsors, including Sen. Capito and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV). Sens. Collins, Cortez Masto, and Capito first introduced the bill in 2017. During the past five years, the measure has spurred the creation of a nationwide Alzheimer’s disease public health infrastructure.
“By empowering our federal and state public health agencies to play an expanded role in areas such as increasing early detection and supporting dementia caregiving, this legislation is having a direct impact on millions of Americans living with Alzheimer’s disease and their families,” Sen. Capito said. “This remains a very personal priority for me and by reauthorizing the BOLD Act, we can continue this momentum and work to provide hope for those touched by this devastating disease.”
The Alzheimer’s Association, UsAgainstAlzheimer’s, the Alzheimer’s Association Maine Chapter, and the Alzheimer’s Impact Movement endorsed the measure, which is a companion bill to H.R. 7218, the same-named bill introduced by U.S. Reps. Brett Guthrie (R-KY) and Paul Tonko (D-NY) in the U.S. House of Representatives.