Washington, D.C., May 23, 2024 — Today the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) overwhelmingly passed the bipartisan BOLD Infrastructure for Alzheimer’s Reauthorization Act (S. 3775 / H.R. 7218). The Alzheimer’s Association and the Alzheimer’s Impact Movement (AIM) are proud to support this critical legislation, which will strengthen the dementia public health infrastructure throughout the nation by reauthorizing the Building Our Largest Dementia (BOLD) Infrastructure for Alzheimer’s Act (P.L.115-406).
“Because of the BOLD Act, public health departments have been making a real-world impact in their communities by implementing effective Alzheimer’s interventions, such as increasing early detection and diagnosis and reducing risk,” said Robert Egge, AIM president and Alzheimer’s Association chief public policy officer. “On behalf of the Alzheimer’s and dementia community, thank you to HELP Committee Chair Bernie Sanders, Ranking Member Bill Cassidy, lead sponsors Sens. Susan Collins, Catherine Cortez Masto, Shelley Moore Capito, and Tim Kaine, and the committee members for supporting the BOLD Reauthorization Act today to continue this great progress being made.”
“Through BOLD, for the first time, we put real resources behind the interventions that can help improve the health and quality of life for people living with Alzheimer’s and their caregivers, as well as to reduce the costs associated with this disease…Reauthorizing the BOLD Act will allow this work to continue,” said Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine).
“It was a pleasure to work on the original version of this bill in 2018. It’s done an awful lot of good,” said Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.). “I think I’m like everyone on this committee with a direct connection to Alzheimer’s. The build out of this public health infrastructure to tackle the challenge is a very laudatory and very bipartisan priority.”
“If you think about Alzheimer’s, it’s the etiology, the treatment and the management. And [the BOLD Reauthorization Act] is along the lines of the management,” said Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.). “I think somebody in the future will look back and say to us, ‘How do you address Alzheimer's?’ And I wish that we have the same victory on Alzheimer's as we have with syphilis, tuberculosis and almost cancer. But I don’t want it to be 60 years. I want it to be 10, and this bill helps make it 10.”
This bipartisan legislation will reauthorize the BOLD Act and empower public health departments to continue improving brain health and supporting caregivers in their communities. In February, the BOLD Reauthorization Act was introduced in the Senate. A companion bill was introduced in the House in February, and since introduction, dedicated AIM advocates have been urging their members of Congress to support this bipartisan legislation, resulting in 80 cosponsors in the House and 31 in the Senate. In March, the BOLD Reauthorization Act unanimously passed the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
