On Tuesday, June 10, the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health & Human Services (LHHS) earmarked an additional $100 million for Alzheimer’s research in their 2015 fiscal year funding bill.

Cure Alzheimer’s Fund is encouraged by the increase for Alzheimer’s disease research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) included in the bill. We are excited by this bill because not only does it include an additional $100 million for the National Institute on Aging, but it also includes an additional $25 million for the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). Cure Alzheimer’s Fund has an ongoing partnership with NIMH focused on our important and ground-breaking Whole Genome Sequencing project. The Subcommittee has again demonstrated its long-standing commitment to supporting Alzheimer’s disease research across the NIH. Cure Alzheimer’s Fund applauds the Subcommittee’s work in these difficult fiscal times.

While its inclusion in the bill is exciting news, more work is needed to secure the additional funding. This subcommittee bill must be approved by the full Senate Appropriations Committee, and then the full Senate.  After that, the higher funding number from the Senate will have to be reconciled with the lower number from the House of Representatives. As the appropriations process continues, we will continue to work with Congress and fight for every dollar for Alzheimer’s disease research.