I believe that a strong health care system is the foundation of a strong economy. The healthcare sector not only supports good jobs today, it also conducts the research that leads us to a more prosperous tomorrow.

Research is medicine’s field of dreams, from which we harvest the findings that lead us to the cures for diseases like Parkinson’s, cancer, and Alzheimer’s. And for me, the fight against Alzheimer’s is personal.

My mother had Alzheimer’s, so I know firsthand what that disease does to people and their families. That’s why I wrote the legislation that created a National Alzheimer’s Plan, the first coordinated strategy we’ve ever had for combating this scourge.

One of the reasons my law was hailed as such a breakthrough was because it laid out a funding strategy for Alzheimer's. If you don’t allocate resources, you’re not really planning -- and we’ve taken that lesson to heart on this campaign.

Please, if you’re able, contribute $5 or more to help us reach our $36,000 goal ahead of this month’s FEC fundraising deadline.
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I’m proud of the work that's been done to help develop treatments to reach the national goal of preventing and curing Alzheimer’s by 2025, but there’s so much more to do. Tea Party Republicans -- including House budget chair Paul Ryan -- have repeatedly proposed billions of dollars in cuts to the National Institutes of Health.

If they get their way, years of progress made on the most devastating diseases will be erased. As someone who has witnessed how devastating -- and costly -- a disease like Alzheimer’s can be to a family, I know how important it is to protect our investments in the NIH, and to continually improve our systems of health care.

When my mother became ill, my father wanted to honor her by caring for her in our home. My father was a hero to me and my brothers -- and by watching him care for my mother, we realized that sometimes heroes need help too. That’s why I authored a law creating the Independence at Home program to lower Medicare costs and improve quality of life for seniors suffering from chronic illnesses.

The richest country on the planet deserves the best health care system on the planet, and with your support, we can make it happen.

Thank you for your help.

Ed