,i  #aacth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #faa  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of   
,,representatives  ,february #ab1 #bjac 
,mr4 ,smith of ,new ,jersey 7for        
himself1 ,mr4 ,wolf1 ,mr4 ,gibson1 and  
,mr4 ,peterson7 introduced the following
 bill2 which was referred to the        
,committee on ,energy and ,commerce  ,a 
,,bill  ,to provide for the expansion of
 ,federal efforts concerning the        
prevention1 education1 treatment1 and   
research activities related to ,lyme and
 other tick-borne diseases1 including   
the establishment of a ,tick-,borne     
,diseases ,advisory ,committee4  #a4    
,short title ,this ,act may be cited as 
the ,lyme and ,tick-,borne ,diseases    
,prevention1 ,education1 and ,research  
,act of #bjac4  #b4 ,establishment of a 
tick-borne diseases advisory committee  
7a7 ,establishment ,not later than #ahj 
days after the date of the enactment of 
this ,act1 the ,secretary of ,health and
 ,human ,services 7referred to in this  
,act as the ,secretary7 shall establish 

within the ,office of the ,secretary an 
advisory committee to be known as the   
,tick-,borne ,diseases ,advisory        
,committee 7referred to in this section 
as the ,committee74  7b7 ,duties ,the   
,committee shall advise the ,secretary  
and the ,assistant ,secretary for       
,health regarding the manner in which   
such officials can--  7#a7 ensure       
interagency coordination and            
communication and minimize overlap      
regarding efforts to address tick-borne 
diseases2  7#b7 identify opportunities  
to coordinate efforts with other        
,federal agencies and private           
organizations addressing such diseases2 
7#c7 ensure interagency coordination and
 communication with constituency groups2
  7#d7 ensure that a broad spectrum of  
scientific viewpoints is represented in 
public health policy decisions and that 
information disseminated to the public  
and physicians is balanced2 and  7#e7   
advise relevant ,federal agencies on    
priorities related to the ,lyme and     

tick-borne diseases4  7c7 ,membership   
7#a7 ,appointed members  7,a7 ,in       
general ,the ,secretary shall appoint   
the voting members of the ,committee    
from among individuals who are not      
officers or employees of the ,federal   
,government4  7,b7 ,groups ,the voting  
members of the ,committee shall include 
the following3  7i7 ,at least #d members
 from the scientific community          
representing the broad spectrum of      
viewpoints held within the scientific   
community related to ,lyme and other    
tick-borne diseases4  7ii7 ,at least #b 
representatives of tick-borne disease   
voluntary organizations4  7iii7 ,at     
least #b health care providers1         
including at least #a full-time         
practicing physician1 with relevant     
experience providing care for           
individuals with a broad range of acute 
and chronic tick-borne diseases4  7iv7  
,at least #b patient representatives who
 are individuals who have been diagnosed
 with a tick-borne disease or who have  

had an immediate family member diagnosed
 with such a disease4  7v7 ,at least #b 
representatives of ,state and local     
health departments and national         
organizations that represent ,state and 
local health professionals4  7,c7       
,diversity ,in appointing members under 
this paragraph1 the ,secretary shall    
ensure that such members1 as a group1   
represent a diversity of scientific     
perspectives relevant to the duties of  
the ,committee4  7#b7 ,ex officio       
members ,the ,secretary shall designate1
 as nonvoting1 ex officio members of the
 ,committee1 representatives overseeing 
tick-borne disease activities from each 
of the following ,federal agencies3     
7,a7 ,the ,centers for ,disease ,control
 and ,prevention4  7,b7 ,the ,national  
,institutes of ,health4  7,c7 ,the      
,agency for ,healthcare ,research and   
,quality4  7,d7 ,the ,food and ,drug    
,administration4  7,e7 ,the ,office of  
the ,assistant ,secretary for ,health4  
7,f7 ,such additional ,federal agencies 

as the ,secretary determines to be      
appropriate4  7#c7 ,co-chairpersons ,the
 ,secretary shall designate the         
,assistant ,secretary of ,health as the 
co-chairperson of the ,committee4 ,the  
appointed members of the ,committee     
shall also elect a public               
co-chairperson4 ,the public             
co-chairperson shall serve a #b-year    
term4  7#d7 ,term of appointment ,the   
term of service for each member of the  
,committee appointed under paragraph    
7#a7 shall be #d years4  7#e7 ,vacancy  
,a vacancy in the membership of the     
,committee shall be filled in the same  
manner as the original appointment4 ,any
 member appointed to fill a vacancy for 
an unexpired term shall be appointed for
 the remainder of that term4 ,members   
may serve after the expiration of their 
terms until their successors have taken 
office4  7d7 ,meetings ,the ,committee  
shall hold public meetings1 except as   
otherwise determined by the ,secretary1 
after providing notice to the public of 

such meetings1 and shall meet at least  
twice a year with additional meetings   
subject to the call of the              
co-chairpersons4 ,agenda items with     
respect to such meetings may be added at
 the request of the members of the      
,committee1 including the               
co-chairpersons4 ,meetings shall be     
conducted1 and records of the           
proceedings shall be maintained1 as     
required by applicable law and by       
regulations of the ,secretary4  7e7     
,report ,not later than #a year after   
the date of the enactment of this ,act1 
and annually thereafter1 the ,committee1
 through the ,director of the ,centers  
for ,disease ,control and ,prevention   
and the ,director of the ,national      
,institutes of ,health1 shall submit a  
report to the ,secretary4 ,each such    
report shall contain1 at a minimum--    
7#a7 a description of the ,committee's  
functions2  7#b7 a list of the          
,committee's members and their          
affiliations2 and  7#c7 a summary of the

 ,committee's activities and            
recommendations during the previous     
year1 including any significant issues  
regarding the functioning of the        
,committee4  7f7 ,authorization of      
,appropriations ,for the purpose of     
carrying out this section1 there is     
authorized to be appropriated #bej1jjj  
for each of fiscal years #bjad through  
#bjah4 ,amounts appropriated under the  
preceding sentence shall be used for the
 expenses and per diem costs incurred by
 the ,committee under this section in   
accordance with the ,federal ,advisory  
,committee ,act1 except that no voting  
member of the ,committee shall be a     
permanent salaried employee4  #c4       
,federal activities related to the      
diagnosis1 surveillance1 prevention1 and
 research of lyme and other tick-borne  
diseases  7a7 ,in ,general ,the         
,secretary1 acting as appropriate       
through the ,director of the ,centers   
for ,disease ,control and ,prevention1  
the ,director of the ,national          

,institutes of ,health1 the             
,commissioner of ,food and ,drugs1 and  
the ,director of the ,agency for        
,healthcare ,research and ,quality1 as  
well as additional ,federal agencies as 
the ,secretary determines to be         
appropriate1 and in consultation with   
the ,tick-,borne ,diseases ,advisory    
,committee1 shall provide for--  7#a7   
the conduct or support of activities    
described in paragraphs 7#a7 through    
7#d7 of subsection 7b72 and  7#b7 the   
coordination of all ,federal programs   
and activities related to ,lyme disease 
and other tick-borne diseases4  7b7     
,activities ,the activities to be       
conducted or supported under subsection 
7a7 include the following3  7#a7        
,development of diagnostic tests  7,a7  
,the development of sensitive and more  
accurate diagnostic tools and tests1    
including a direct detection test for   
,lyme disease capable of distinguishing 
active infection from past infection4   
7,b7 ,improving the efficient           

utilization of diagnostic testing       
currently available to account for the  
multiple clinical manifestations of both
 acute and chronic ,lyme disease4  7,c7 
,providing for the timely evaluation of 
promising emerging diagnostic methods4  
7#b7 ,surveillance and reporting  7,a7  
,accurately determining the prevalence  
of ,lyme and other tick-borne disease4  
7,b7 ,evaluating the feasibility of     
developing a reporting system for the   
collection of data on                   
physician-diagnosed cases of ,lyme      
disease that do not meet the            
surveillance criteria of the ,centers   
for ,disease ,control and ,prevention in
 order to more accurately gauge disease 
incidence4  7,c7 ,evaluating the        
feasibility of creating a national      
uniform reporting system including      
required reporting by laboratories in   
each ,state4  7#c7 ,prevention  7,a7    
,the provision and promotion of access  
to a comprehensive1 up-to-date          
clearinghouse of peer-reviewed          

information on ,lyme and other          
tick-borne disease4  7,b7 ,increased    
public education related to ,lyme and   
other tick-borne diseases through the   
expansion of the community-based        
education programs of the ,centers for  
,disease ,control and ,prevention to    
include expansion of information access 
points to the public4  7,c7 ,the        
creation of a physician education       
program that includes the full spectrum 
of scientific research related to ,lyme 
and other tick-borne diseases4  7,d7    
,the sponsoring of scientific           
conferences on ,lyme and other          
tick-borne diseases1 including reporting
 and consideration of the full spectrum 
of clinically based knowledge1 with the 
first of such conferences to be held not
 later than #bd months after the date of
 the enactment of this ,act4  7#d7      
,clinical outcomes research  7,a7 ,the  
establishment of epidemiological        
research objectives to determine the    
long-term course of illness for ,lyme   

disease4  7,b7 ,determination of the    
effectiveness of different treatment    
modalities by establishing treatment    
outcome objectives4  7c7 ,authorization 
of appropriations ,for the purposes of  
carrying out this section and providing 
for additional research1 prevention1 and
 educational activities for ,lyme and   
other tick-borne diseases1 there is     
authorized to be appropriated           
#bj1jjj1jjj for each of fiscal years    
#bjad through #bjah4 ,such authorization
 of appropriations is in addition to any
 other authorization of appropriations  
available for such purpose4 ,of the     
amounts authorized to be appropriated   
under this subsection--  7#a7 for fiscal
 year #bjad1 at least #g1ejj1jjj shall  
be for activities of the ,centers for   
,disease ,control and ,prevention2 and  
7#b7 for each of fiscal years #bjae     
through #bjah1 at least #e1jjj1jjj shall
 be for activities of the ,centers for  
,disease ,control and ,prevention4  #d4 
,reports on lyme and other tick-borne   

diseases  7a7 ,in ,general ,not later   
than #ah months after the date of the   
enactment of this ,act1 and annually    
thereafter1 the ,secretary shall submit 
to the ,congress a report on the        
activities carried out under this ,act4 
7b7 ,content ,reports under subsection  
7a7 shall contain--  7#a7 a description 
of significant activities or            
developments related to the             
surveillance1 diagnosis1 treatment1     
education1 or prevention of ,lyme or    
other tick-borne diseases1 including    
suggestions for further research and    
education2  7#b7 a scientifically       
qualified assessment of ,lyme and other 
tick-borne diseases1 including both     
acute and chronic instances1 related to 
the broad spectrum of empirical evidence
 of treating physicians1 as well as     
published peer-reviewed data1 that shall
 include recommendations for addressing 
research gaps in diagnosis and treatment
 of ,lyme and other tick-borne diseases 
and an evaluation of treatment          

guidelines and their utilization2  7#c7 
a description of progress in the        
development of accurate diagnostic tools
 that are more useful in the clinical   
setting for both acute and chronic      
disease2  7#d7 a description of         
activities for the promotion of public  
awareness and physician education       
initiatives to improve the knowledge of 
health care providers and the public    
regarding clinical and surveillance     
practices for ,lyme disease and other   
tick-borne diseases2 and  7#e7 a copy of
 the most recent annual report issued by
 the ,tick-,borne ,diseases ,advisory   
,committee established in section #b and
 an assessment of progress in achieving 
recommendations of that ,committee4