Rosen Joins Bipartisan ALS Caucus in the Senate

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) announced that she has joined the recently-formed bipartisan Senate ALS Caucus. The caucus brings together Republicans and Democrats to craft and advance bipartisan solutions to better advocate for ALS patients and families and find a cure for this devastating disease. 
 
“We must do more to advocate on behalf of ALS patients and their families,” said Senator Rosen. “Together, we must take serious, bipartisan action to address this fatal neurodegenerative disease. This caucus is a great way to come together for this common goal, and I look forward to working across the aisle with my colleagues to advance policies that improve the quality of life for ALS patients and eventually find a cure.”
 
BACKGROUND: The bipartisan Senate ALS Caucus will bring together Senators from both sides of the aisle who share a commitment to working collaboratively to advocate on behalf of ALS patients and their families. The mission of the Senate ALS Caucus is to:
 
–    Raise awareness about the difficulties faced by ALS patients and their families;
–    Advance policies that improve the quality of life for ALS patients;
–    Expand the network of support for those suffering from ALS; and
–    Advocate for investments in research that will enhance our understanding of the causes of ALS, identify effective treatments, and eventually discover a cure.
 
Senator Rosen is an original co-sponsor of the ALS Disability Insurance Access Act (S.578), bipartisan legislation that would help decrease some of the financial hardship that accompanies an ALS diagnosis by eliminating the five-month waiting period before ALS patients can receive Social Security Disability Insurance benefits. As a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, then-Congresswoman Rosen was an early co-sponsor of the bipartisan Steve Gleason Enduring Voices Act of 2017 (H.R. 2465), to permanently fix a federal policy that limited access to speech generating devices to individuals with degenerative diseases such as ALS. This legislation was signed into law in 2018 as part of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (H.R. 1892).

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease that destroys the body’s ability to control muscle movement. There is no effective treatment for the disease, no known cause, and currently no cure. 

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