The president’s budget request for fiscal year 2007 paints a bleak picture for the current and future generations of Americans who face the devastation of Alzheimer’s disease. It cuts critical funding for Alzheimer research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) from $652 million this year to $645 million in fiscal year 2007.

This occurs despite a wealth of promising research findings on diagnosis, genetics, treatment and prevention. Studies demonstrate very clearly that by slowing the onset of Alzheimer’s disease and by minimizing the effects of the disease, research could save lives and billions of tax dollars in Medicare and Medicaid payments in the near future.

Left unchecked, the number of people with Alzheimer’s will increase from 4.5 million today to as many as 16 million by mid-century, devastating more families and bankrupting our healthcare system.

In addition to research, the president’s budget also slashes funding for all programs related to Alzheimer’s disease. Funding for two such programs currently administered by the Administration on Aging is eliminated. One is the Alzheimer’s Association 24/7 Contact Center which provides support and assistance to thousands of individuals every week. The other is a matching grants program to states nationwide for the development of innovative and cost effective programs for delivering services to those with Alzheimer’s and their caregivers, especially in under-served communities. The two programs are funded this year at approximately $1 million and $13 million, respectively.

The budget, if passed, would also eliminate funding for a 10-year old Justice Department program called Alzheimer's Association Safe Return®, which protects those with Alzheimer’s disease who wander away from home and returns them safely to their loved ones. The program, administered by the Alzheimer’s Association, has over a 98 percent success rate for registered individuals and is popular with police and fire departments across the nation because it helps reduce their use of scarce resources to locate Alzheimer wanderers. Current funding for Safe Return is approximately $800,000.

And, a relatively new initiative on brain health coordinated by the Alzheimer’s Association and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is slated for elimination in the president’s budget. This program, funded this year at $1.6 million, is helping to develop a national action plan on brain health and test brain health programs in several communities.

The Alzheimer’s Association is mobilizing its resources to restore these vital programs. The Association calls on the public to write and email members of Congress and urge them to increase Alzheimer programs and research funding.

The Alzheimer's Association, the world leader in Alzheimer research and support, is the first and largest voluntary health organization dedicated to finding prevention methods, treatments and an eventual cure for Alzheimer’s. For more than 25 years, the donor-supported, not-for-profit Alzheimer’s Association has provided reliable information and care consultation; created supportive services for families; increased funding for dementia research; and influenced public policy changes.

The Alzheimer’s Association’s vision is a world without Alzheimer’s and its dual mission is to eliminate Alzheimer’s disease through the advancement of research and to enhance care and support for individuals, their families and caregivers.