Several pieces of legislation, all supported by AFA, that will help safeguard individuals with Alzheimer's disease made significant progress in Congress recently.
Among them were two bills related to wandering that passed the House last week:
-H.R. 6503, introduced by Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), reauthorizes and expands the Missing Alzheimer's Disease Patient Alert Program. This Department of Justice Program helps local communities and law enforcement quickly find and identify persons with Alzheimer's disease who wander or are missing. H.R. 6503 authorizes up to $5 million per year in appropriations for fiscal years 2009 through 2015.
-The National Silver Alert Act, authored by Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX), would expand "Silver Alert," a public notification system that uses radio, television and highway signs to broadcast information about missing elderly persons with dementia or other mental impairment in order to help locate them.
Although there is no time for similar legislation to proceed through the Senate and to the President before Congress is set to adjourn on Friday, Congressional sponsors intend to reintroduce both bills at the start of the 111th Congress next year.
And, thanks to a bill introduced by Senator Barbara A. Mikulski (D-MD), September 22 has been officially declared "National Falls
This article was reprinted with permission from the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America (AFA). For more information about the AFA, visit them online at: www.alzfnd.org or call them at 1-866-232-8484. Alzheimer’s Family Services is a proud member of the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America.
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