S133-118

What This Bill Does

This bill reauthorizes and expands the National Alzheimer's Project Act (NAPA) through 2035. It broadens the project's mission beyond research coordination to include healthy aging promotion, cognitive risk reduction, and outreach to underserved populations including individuals with developmental disabilities such as Down syndrome. It also expands the federal advisory council with new agency designees and additional non-federal members.

Who Benefits and How

• Alzheimer's patients and caregivers benefit from a continued, expanded national coordination effort that now includes prevention and risk reduction strategies alongside treatment research
• Underserved and minority communities benefit from new provisions requiring diverse clinical trial recruitment, attention to disparities, and inclusion of populations with higher lifetime Alzheimer's risk
• People with developmental disabilities (particularly Down syndrome) are explicitly included in the project's scope for the first time
• Alzheimer's researchers benefit from sustained federal research coordination through 2035 and a broadened research agenda covering risk reduction and public health
• Advisory council members now include a person with an Alzheimer's diagnosis and a representative from a historically underserved population, bringing lived experience to policy

Who Bears the Burden and How

• Department of Health and Human Services takes on expanded coordination responsibilities including risk reduction, public health outreach, and public-private collaboration oversight
• Additional federal agencies (DOJ, FEMA, SSA, and additional HHS designees) must now participate in the advisory council, requiring staff time and coordination
• No new costs or regulatory burdens are imposed on patients, families, or private entities

Key Provisions

• Adds healthy aging promotion and cognitive risk factor reduction to the project's goals
• Requires the advisory council to promote healthy behaviors that may reduce cognitive decline risk
• Expands the advisory council to include designees from DOJ, FEMA, SSA, and additional HHS representatives
• Increases non-federal advisory council members and requires diverse clinical trial recruitment expertise
• Adds a person with an Alzheimer's diagnosis and a representative from a high-risk underserved population to the council
• Changes evaluations from initial-only to annual evaluations covering risk reduction and public health
• Extends the authorization and advisory council sunset date from 2025 to 2035
• Requires evaluations and updates to address and reduce disparities