Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions

Floor Speech

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Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I rise today with my colleague from Minnesota, Senator Tina Smith, to introduce the TICK Act. This stands for Ticks: Identify, Control, and Knockout Act. I would also like to recognize my colleague from Maine, Senator King, who is joining us as an original cosponsor.

Our bipartisan legislation would provide local communities and States with the resources needed to help prevent, detect early, and treat Lyme and other tick-borne diseases.

Tick-borne diseases like Lyme have become a major public health concern, with the incidence exploding over the past 15 years. The number of Americans with tick-borne diseases has been rising at an alarming rate. In 2003, Lyme disease infected approximately 30,000 Americans. Last year there were an estimated 450,000 cases--a staggering 1,400-percent increase.

In Maine, last year alone, there were 2,000 new cases of Lyme disease. That is a sharp increase from the 752 cases in 2010.

Other tick-borne diseases are also on the rise. Anaplasmosis, for example, has more than tripled.

Far too many Americans with Lyme disease experience a complex diagnostic odyssey that takes months or even years. One of my constituents, Paula Jackson Jones, from Damariscotta, ME, shared with me her harrowing tale that took 2 years, scores of tests, and 23 different physicians before she finally received the correct diagnosis that she had Lyme disease. Her journey started one afternoon 10 years ago after raking leaves in her backyard. A week later, unusual symptoms began to appear: anxiety attacks, pain, muscle spasms, and fatigue. These symptoms became debilitating.

Before receiving the correct diagnosis, Paula was diagnosed incorrectly with multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's, and other diseases. Once she finally received the proper diagnosis and treatment, Paula founded Midcoast Lyme Disease Support & Education, a nonprofit that raises public awareness about Lyme disease.

She told me:

This has been a 10-year crusade for me with the first 5 years fighting for my life and the latter, fighting on behalf of others.

In addition to the physical and emotional toll that Lyme disease takes, it is also expensive. Paula is still paying off more than $250,000 worth of medical bills that she has incurred. Medical costs of Lyme disease are estimated at $1.3 billion per year. When accounting for indirect medical costs, including the loss of work, the annual cost balloons to $75 billion per year.

A correct and early diagnosis can reduce costs, as well as improve the prognosis, but we have a long way to go. When HIV became a public health crisis, fortunately, a gold standard for identification and treatment was developed within 10 years. Lyme disease, by contrast, was identified more than 40 years ago; yet there still is no gold standard treatment, and existing prevention, education, and diagnostic efforts have proven to be inadequate.

The TICK Act would apply a three-pronged approach to addressing Lyme and other tick and vector-borne diseases. First, it would establish an office of oversight and coordination of vector-borne diseases at the Department of Health and Human Services. This office would develop a national strategy to prevent and treat Lyme and other tick-borne diseases. It would expand research and improve testing, treatment affordability, and public awareness. The office would also coordinate with key Federal agencies, including the CDC, the Department of Defense, USDA, and EPA to protect Americans from these diseases.

Second, our bill would reauthorize the Regional Centers for Excellence in Vector-Borne Disease, which Congress established in 2017 in response to the Zika outbreak. Since then, tick-borne diseases have accounted for three out of four vector-borne diseases in our country, and these centers have been effective in leading the scientific response. The Collins-Smith bill would reauthorize these centers for another 5 years at $10 million per year.

Finally, our bill would establish CDC grants, which would be awarded to State health departments to improve data collection and analysis, support early detection and diagnosis, improve treatment and heighten public awareness. The TICK Act takes a comprehensive approach to address tick-borne diseases.

I urge all of our colleagues to support this important legislation.

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