Lyme and Tick-borne Disease Prevention, Education, and Research Act of 2015

Floor Speech

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Mrs. GILLIBRAND. Mr. President, I rise today to speak in support of legislation to address a serious public health concern: the spread of Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases in the United States.

In my home State of New York, there were 37,977 reported cases of Lyme disease between 2005 and 2014, one of the most heavily affected populations in the country. This disease affects hundreds of thousands of people around the Nation and is the most commonly reported vector- borne illness in the United States, with an estimated 300,000 people becoming infected each year. The species of ticks that spread Lyme disease now live in 46 percent of the Nation's counties.

If caught early, Lyme disease can be treated with antibiotics.

Unfortunately, the disease can be difficult to diagnose because its symptoms mimic the symptoms of other serious diseases and because existing diagnostic tests still have many limitations. As a result, Lyme disease often goes undetected or misdiagnosed, making effective treatment of patients more difficult. Untreated Lyme disease can be debilitating and result in severe pain and suffering.

To help address this epidemic, I urge my Senate colleagues to help pass the Lyme and Tick-Borne Disease Prevention, Education, and Research Act, S. 1503. The House of Representatives approved this legislation over a year ago, and we must now come together to pass this bill in the Senate as soon as possible.

The Lyme and Tick-Borne Disease Prevention, Education, and Research Act, would coordinate Federal efforts to address Lyme and other trick- borne diseases. It would create an advisory committee within the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services, HHS, made up of patients, advocates, researchers, health care providers, and government officials tasked with identifying best practices for combatting tick-borne diseases. It would also direct the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services to carry out activities coordinated across agencies to improve data collection, develop better diagnostic tests, enhance prevention and public awareness activities, and support clinical research into treatments.

The prevalence of Lyme and other tick-borne disease cases in this country demands a strong and coordinated effort at the Federal level.

The Lyme and Tick-Borne Disease Prevention, Education, and Research Act is a critical step toward ending this epidemic.

I strongly encourage my colleagues in the Senate to cosponsor and help pass this legislation to improve our Federal response to tackling Lyme and other tick-borne diseases. Thank you.

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