mr. shimkus. for efficiency, i'm going to come down to the well only because we have a number of boards we'd like to present in our next portion here. mr. speaker, a couple of weeks ago, i came to the floor and did a bit of a presentation of some of the numbers we were seeing on what was actually happening in our debt in our future economic growth. why we were so stagnant in today's economy and the overhang that was, i believe, the very thing that was slowing down future economic growth. i had a number of phone calls, a number of emails and a few comments on facebook asking for a little more definition, a little more presentation system of i thought i would come to the floor this evening, take some of this leadership hour and walk through some of the numbers. and i have to apologize to everyone right now, i'm going to throw out a lot of math a lot of numbers, but you're goinl to see a theme -- you're going to see a theme here of what is coming at us and it's coming at us very, very fast. after we d

mr. shimkus: alzheimer's, to your point, alzheimer's -- mr. roskam: alzheimer's, to your point, alzheimer's is a devastating illness and it is absolutely ravaging our nation. five million americans are suffering from it and the cost of alzheimer's is in the billions and billions and billions of dollars. in fact, there's some estimates that suggest it will be in the trillions of dollars between 2010 and 2050. there is some good news and there's some hopeful news that we're on the verge of some new treatments but we need effective coordination to ensure that the money is spent on research that is being utilized effectively. and the devastating cost of this disease is proof in the numbers. nearly one in five medicare dollars is spent on a person with alzheimer's and other dementias. and this year the total cost of alzheimer's will be $214 billion, including $150 billion on medicare and medicaid expenditures. and this will skyrocket in the years ahead. this is not just a dollars and cents issue. yes, it's very important and, yes, we discuss dollar

mr. shimkus, is onboard with very much the same thoughts. i'd like to think that in the next congress, when we've got some new faces, perhaps on both sides of the house and the senate, that we'll be able to move a bipartisan bill to in fact deal with both long-term and short-term in terms of interim and i look forward to being a party to try and get those two groups together. so i would ask the two gentlemen from texas, particularly you, mr. barton, if you would withdraw the amendment, knowing that we will in fact deal with this on nother day, not today. the chair: the gentleman from michigan -- mr. upton: i yield back. i reserve the balance of my time. but -- the chair: does the gentleman from idaho continue to reserve a point of order? mr. simpson: continue to reserve my point of order. the chair: the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. barton: thank you, madam speaker. let me reiterate before i ask unanimous consent to withdraw this amendment that, one, it's obviously bipartisan. two, i think it would pass the house overwhelmingly bec

mr. shimkus, the remainder of the time. mr. shimkus: i thank my colleague, and to my friends from nevada, i too understand their issues of concern. we look forward to working with them. the appropriations committee, you've done great work. in 1982, there's been two laws passed, the nuclear waste policy act of 1982 and the amendments offered in 1987. it's the law of the land. in fact, the federal courts have ruled in favor of the law of the land. that's why we're where we're at today. the gentlelady's amendment would say, take the money away for finishing the court-mandated scientific study. she even mentioned in her opening comments the scientific research. the federal courts have said, d.o.e., federal government, finish the scientific study. and remember hemmed -- and her amendment would take that money away. we're going to find out through the scientific study that the nuclear regulatory commission is going to end up saying, this is the best place on the planet of the earth for long-term nuclear storage of waste. it's going to

mr. shimkus: thank you. i want to thank the committee for again doing fine work. the amendment talks about none of the funds can be used for the n.r.c.'s work. the nuclear regulatory commission is the independent agency to ensure the safety of the nuclear power industry and the disposition of this waste. in attacking this and pulling this money out, it is the last attempt to say, we're not going o allow the scientific basis n.r. commission, most appointed by a democratic administration, to do their work. we know what they're going to come out with, they're going to say it's safe for a million years. and of course people need to go isit the great state of nevada or however -- people say illinois, they say illinois. i would just tell you this. it's a great state. i've been there. there will be a time when we need to move forward and i'm pledging, along with the chairman, to do what's right by your state. yucca mountain is a small portion of the nuclear waste test site. you have d.o.e. land and bureau of land management land and it is bigger than most states and peop