Published: November 23, 2009 09:24 am      

Deadline looms to request 2010 bills

Work is continuing on the various interim studies. We have until Friday, December 11 to request what bills we want to file in the upcoming session. So, again, if you have any ideas for legislation, please contact me.

We also had the first of the budget hearings in the Natural Resources and Regulatory Services Appropriations Sub-Committee. We will be continuing these meetings next week. It is important that we continue to work together as we deal with this critical budget situation.

We recently had an opportunity to recognize our veterans who sacrificed so much to protect our freedom. Even though we have a special day “Veteran’s Day” set aside to recognize these great heroes it is important that we show respect to them everyday throughout the year and never forget to show our appreciation.

I was honored to be asked to participate in a Veteran’s Day program at the Watonga Schools honoring Glenn Blood who had received the Silver Star and the Purple Heart after his service during the Vietnam War. He and a number of other veteran’s were recognized at the event, and I was truly amazed and extremely proud of the respect that the students showed these individuals. It was a humbling experience for me to be in the presence of all those great individuals who stood and fought for our country.

In closing, you’ll probably hear a lot about Alzheimer’s this month in the news as it’s National Alzheimer’s Awareness Month, so I’d like to share some information with you. This horrible disease has a great impact on our families and society.

In 2006, nearly 73,000 Americans died of Alzheimer's disease and 411,000 citizens were diagnosed with the disease, and that number is expected to skyrocket as Baby Boomers get older.

Based on these statistics, we approved Senate Concurrent Resolution 2 in March of this year, which urged Congress to increase federal funding for Alzheimer’s disease research.

It’s unfortunate, but our federal government spends much more on HIV/AIDS research than Alzheimer’s research even though there are nearly eight times the number of Alzheimer’s patients in our country than HIV/AIDS victims. In 2006, there were around 56,300 Americans infected with HIV compared to the 411,000 new Alzheimer patients, yet the federal government spends around $2.9 billion a year on HIV/AIDS research and only about $650 million for Alzheimer's research.

The government even spends more each year on West Nile Virus research - about $15,564 per patient compared to $124 per Alzheimer patient.

Experts predict that as the Baby Boom generation ages, the number of Alzheimer cases will increase to half a million by 2010 and almost a million by 2050.

Hopefully researchers can find a cure for this horrible disease. We need to work to ensure that our elderly keep their mental capacity to their final days, and that families no longer have to suffer financially or emotionally watching their loved ones spend their last years lost and confused.



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To contact me at the Capitol, please write to Senator Ron Justice, State Capitol, 2300 N. Lincoln Blvd. Room 423A, Oklahoma City, OK, 73105, or call (405) 521-5537 and speak to my assistant, Yvonne Phelps.