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Senate committees back resolution asking UH to explore Alzheimer’s research center
Summary
The Senate Committee on Higher Education, joined by the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services, voted to pass a resolution requesting the University of Hawai‘i study the feasibility of establishing an Alzheimer’s disease research center and identify federal funding requirements from the National Institute on Aging.
The Senate Committee on Higher Education, in a joint decision-making session with the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services, voted March 24 to pass a resolution requesting the University of Hawai‘i to explore establishing an Alzheimer’s disease research center and identify requirements for obtaining federal funding from the National Institute on Aging.
The measure (recorded in the hearing transcript as SCR 203 with a companion Senate resolution referenced during the hearing) passed on the chair’s recommendation. Chair Kim voted aye; Vice Chair Aquino was excused; and Senator Hashimoto recorded an aye vote. The recommendation was adopted, according to the hearing record.
The resolution asks the university to “get the ball rolling” on an Alzheimer’s disease research center and to identify the steps needed to obtain federal research funding, supporters said.
“We are a nonpartisan organization, and across several years, we’ve increased funding substantially,” said Coby Chok of the Alzheimer’s Association, who testified in favor of the measure. “This year, the continuing resolution that Congress passed kept the funding alive and continuing.”
A separate testifier who did not give a full name told the committees, “we do believe there’ll be money for Alzheimer’s even with chaos in Washington,” and said Hawai‘i’s diverse population makes it a useful location for research.
Committee members did not request amendments during decision making. The committees recessed for decision making and returned to vote; the chair again recommended passage and the recommendation carried.
The resolution does not commit the university to establish a center or to accept funding; it requests study and reporting on feasibility and federal funding requirements, according to the language presented in the hearing.
The committees heard only a small number of people in support during the public testimony period and recorded no opposition in the hearing transcript. The measure will proceed according to the Legislature’s follow-up steps for resolutions.
Votes at a glance: the chair voted aye; Senator Hashimoto voted aye; Vice Chair Aquino and Senator Fevella were recorded as excused. The transcript records the recommendation as adopted.
