,i  #aafth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #cefh  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,june #bg1 #bjai,mr4 
,katko 7for himself and ,mr4 ,sean      
,patrick ,maloney of ,new ,york7        
introduced the following bill2 which was
 referred to the ,committee on ,energy  
and ,commerce  ,a ,,bill  ,to direct the
 ,secretary of ,health and ,human       
,services1 acting through the ,director 
of the ,centers for ,disease ,control   
and ,prevention1 to award grants to     
,states to implement a tick             
identification pilot program4  #a4      
,short title ,this ,act may be cited as 
the ,tick ,identification ,pilot        
,program ,act of #bjai4  #b4 ,tick      
identification pilot program  7a7       
,establishment ,the ,secretary of       
,health and ,human ,services1 acting    
through the ,director of the ,centers   
for ,disease ,control and ,prevention1  
may award grants to ,states to implement
 a tick identification program4  7b7    
,priority ,in awarding grants under this

 section1 the ,secretary shall give     
priority to ,states that-- 7#a7 have    
more reported cases of ,lyme disease2   
and  7#b7 submit an effective plan for  
implementation and maintenance of a tick
 identification program4  7c7 ,program  
requirements ,any program funded under  
this section shall--  7#a7 allow        
individuals to submit electronically    
photo images of ticks encountered2  7#b7
 require images of ticks to be submitted
 with the likely geographic location    
where the ticks were encountered1 the   
date on which the ticks were            
encountered1 and the likely physical    
location where the ticks were found 7for
 example1 on a pet1 on a human1 or      
loose72  7#c7 after review by a         
qualified professional1 respond to the  
individual directly within #gb hours of 
the image being received with--  7,a7 if
 possible1 identification of the species
 and life stage of the tick2  7,b7 if   
possible1 an estimate of the risk that  
the tick carried a tick-borne disease2  

7,c7 a recommendation of the best       
practices for the individual who        
encountered the tick1 including with    
respect to seeking medical evaluation   
and submitting the tick for testing2 and
  7,d7 additional education on best     
methods to avoid ticks and prevent      
contagion of tick-borne illnesses2 and  
7#d7 maintain a database of reported    
tick incidents1 including-- 7,a7 the    
date1 geographic location1 and          
environment of the encounter2  7,b7 any 
identifying information about the tick  
that was determined2 and  7,c7 best     
practices that were disseminated to each
 reporting individual4  7d7 ,application
 ,to seek a grant under this section1 a 
,state shall submit an application at   
such time1 in such form1 and containing 
such information as the ,secretary may  
prescribe4  7e7 ,data collection2 report
  7#a7 ,data collection ,the ,secretary 
shall collect1 with respect to each     
,state program funded under this section
 and each fiscal year1 the following    

data3  7,a7 ,the number of tick         
incidents reported4  7,b7 ,for each     
incident reported--  7i7 the date1      
geographic location1 and environment of 
the encounter2  7ii7 any identifying    
information about the tick that was     
determined2 and  7iii7 best practices   
that were disseminated to each reporting
 individual4  7#b7 ,report ,not later   
than #ij days after the first day of    
each of fiscal years #bjbj through      
#bjbc1 the ,secretary shall prepare and 
submit to the ,congress a report on the 
data collected under paragraph 7#a74    
7f7 ,definition ,in this ,act3 7#a7 ,the
 term qualified professional means a    
biologist with a background in vector   
biology4  7#b7 ,the term ,secretary     
means the ,secretary of ,health and     
,human ,services1 acting through the    
,director of the ,centers for ,disease  
,control and ,prevention4