Senate votes to increase dementia research in FY2018

In a highly-contentious Washington, there’s something everyone can agree on: the need for new dementia treatments.

The Senate Appropriations Committee has approved an additional $414 million forin dementia research for the fiscal year 2018 budget for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and related agencies. If signed into law, total federal funding for dementia research funding would reach $1.8 billion.

Congress is expected to vote on the package in the coming month. For the past two years, legislators have increased funding for dementia and Alzheimer’s research.

“We applaud this bipartisan effort, and hope to see continued collaboration on behalf of the more than 5 million Americans living with Alzheimer’s and their over 15 million caregivers who are depending on their representatives to prioritize their health,” said Harry Johns, Alzheimer’s Association and AIM President and CEO in a press release.

Overall, the Labor-HHS budget bill is $164.1 billion, about $3 billion about FY2017 funding levels and $27.5 billion above President Donald Trump’s request.

Related: House authorizes $400M for Alzheimer’s research

Nicole Stempak

Nicole was Senior Editor at I Advance Senior Care and Long Term Living Magazine 2015-2017. She has a Journalism degree from Kent State University and is finalizing a master’s degree in Information Architecture and Management. She has extensive studies in the digital user experience and in branding online media. She has worked as an editor and writer for various B2B publications, including Business Finance.