Dec 28, 2014 2 min read

Pat Toomey, Pennsylvania’s junior Republican senator from Lehigh County, is as vocal as any U.S. lawmaker when it comes to advocating a fiscally conservative approach to federal spending.

But Toomey looked beyond partisan politics earlier this month when he voted in favor of bipartisan legislation that keeps the government funded within current budget limits because the bill includes several legislative initiatives he has championed over the years, specifically increased investment in Alzheimer’s research.

Toomey is proud to admit that he is quite a formidable ally in the fight against Alzheimer’s disease, not because it is a politically expedient position, but because for Toomey, it is personal.

“My grandmother died from the disease, and my dad was diagnosed with it last year,” Toomey said during a recent interview.

“Congress needs to make money available to find a cure for Alzheimer’s,” he said. “Resources need to be pumped into research to find out what causes this disease.”

As a member of the Congressional Task Force on Alzheimer’s, Toomey said he is committed to finding the most responsible – and effective – way of ensuring that this work continues and succeeds.

” I sat down with Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, to discuss funding for Alzheimer’s and ways we can work together,” he said.

The bipartisan legislation Toomey signed on to incorporated the Alzheimer’s Accountability Act, but as the senator pointed out, the Alzheimer’s Accountability Act has no attached cost to it. Rather, the act requires the director of the NIH to provide an annual professional estimate to Congress and the president on how much research funding will be required to treat and prevent Alzheimer’s by 2025.

“Look, this disease is 100 percent fatal, and there has been terrific progress related to treatments and cures of other diseases. The glaring exception is Alzheimer’s,” he said.

“This is so devastating. I know we will eventually find a cause and a cure, but until then the disease just deepens the burdens on families. The sooner the cure the sooner there will be relief for families,” he said.