President Trump’s proposed fiscal year 2021 budget would cut funding to the National institutes of Health by $3 billion dollars

Washington (February 12, 2020) – Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) today expressed serious concerns over President Donald Trump’s proposed Fiscal Year 2021 budget, which would cut National Institutes of Health (NIH) medical research by $3 billion dollars. Currently, more than 5.8 million Americans suffer from Alzheimer's disease; by 2050, the number of Americans living with Alzheimer's could reach nearly 14 million. The cuts outlined in President Trump’s budget proposal would effectively thwart decades of scientific progress in medical research for many conditions, including Alzheimer’s disease.

“Every year, President Trump proposes dangerous funding cuts to crucial medical research funded by the National Institutes of Health. Make no mistake; these proposed cuts clearly symbolize this administration’s carelessness toward patients and families praying for cures and better treatments every day,” said Senator Markey. “Medical research is a symbol of hope for millions of Americans, and I will continue working to ensure the medical research community has the support and resources needed to continue making Alzheimer’s a national priority.”

Throughout his years in Congress, Senator Markey has been a champion for raising awareness of Alzheimer’s disease and working to find a cure. He is the House author of the National Alzheimer’s Project Act (NAPA), which became law in 2011. Passage of NAPA led to the creation of a National Alzheimer’s Plan to effectively prevent and treat Alzheimer’s by the year 2025. In 2014, Senator Markey’s Alzheimer’s Accountability Act was signed into law, as part of the fiscal year 2015 appropriations package, which requires the NIH to report to Congress how much additional funding the agency needs annually to meet the milestones set forth in Senator Markey’s National Alzheimer’s Project Act.

Following passage of the NAPA and the Alzheimer’s Accountability Act, medical research funding for Alzheimer’s disease has seen substantial funding increases.

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