Federal Lyme Bill HR 741 Congressman Smith helped us by introducing the Lyme bill. Let's help him to get this bill passed!
Lyme & Tick-Borne Disease Prevention, Education & Research Act of 2007
This bill was introduced into the US House of Representatives on January 31, 2007 by Congressman Christopher H. Smith (NJ). The bill is identical to last year's House bill (HR 3427) except for updated dates in the bill. We need your help now. Click on the link to get information on the Smith/Stupak bill, (history, co-sponsors, who to contact). Lyme disease desperately needs the $100 million over 5 years that this bill provides for research, physician education, prevention, and task force formation.�
Be sure to check the Lyme Disease Association forum for ALERTS!!
[ 19. February 2007, 12:45 PM: Message edited by: Jenifer ]
Posted by bettyg (Member # 6147) on :
thank you jenifer for the info here & LDA site!
the letter's paragraphs are too long for this neuro lymie, so i'm copying it here and shortening for us neuro lymies to use with our state's HOUSE OF REPS!
SAMPLE letter for House Representatives asking for their support:
E-mail or fax your letter (personalized if possible) to the Washington, DC office.
Your First & Last name Your Street Address City, State and Zip Code Your Phone Number your email address
Month day, year
The Honorable xxxx xxxx U.S. House of Representatives
Dear Representative xxxx:
I urge you to sign on as a co-sponsor to ``The Lyme and Tick-Borne Disease Prevention, Education, and Research Act of 2007'' (H.R. 741 Chris Smith/Bart Stupak).
Tick-borne diseases (TBD), especially Lyme, are an increasing worldwide problem,* with concerns expressed about Lyme disease by a number of agencies, including the UN and the World Health Organization, which are looking at global environmental and health-related issues.
Yet, funding is not forthcoming from government sources and has even decreased for Lyme despite rising case numbers.
In fact, its funding is being vastly overshadowed by funding for other less prevalent diseases like West Nile Virus (WNV).
In 2005, the government expended about $32.6 million (down from $33.6 million in 2004) on Lyme disease and $80.8 million on WNV (up from $77.6 million in 2004 ), despite the fact that there were 8 times more Lyme cases reported than WNV cases.
Additionally, there are 10 times more cases of Lyme disease that meet the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) criteria than are reported.
In 2005, the final CDC reported numbers show 23,305 reported Lyme disease cases nationally; translating into 233,050 actual new cases that met CDC criteria.
No one knows how many occurred that do NOT even fit CDC surveillance criteria.
Lyme disease, the most common vector-borne disease in the United States, is usually contracted by the bite from a bacteria-infected tick.
In humans, infection with Lyme disease bacteria can lead to early symptoms such as severe headaches, debilitating fatigue, joint pain, and skin rashes, while long-term symptoms can lead to problems related to the central nervous system including the brain, heart, joints and other musculo-skeletal problems.
Symptoms of Lyme disease vary for each individual patient, and also vary in intensity over the course of the disease.
The long-term cost of Lyme disease to families, school systems, the health care system, and the economy is astounding.
According to a study published in 1993 in Contingencies, an actuarial trade publication, the cost to society for Lyme disease was about one billion dollars per year. The average treatment and diagnosis and lost wages related to Lyme disease was $61,688 per year per patient.
Cases have doubled since then, so today's costs are probably $2 Billion or more annually .
Despite the prevalence, severity, and economic costs of this illness, patients with Lyme disease are having increased difficulty obtaining diagnosis and treatment.
You are in a unique position to right this wrong. Your co-sponsorship and vote for H.R. 741 (Smith/Stupak) is essential .
It will improve:
* surveillance and prevention of Lyme disease, * the development of accurate diagnostic tests, * physician education, and * it will fund additional research to determine long-term course of illness and the effectiveness of different treatments. * It also sets up a federal task force to coordinate the federal efforts to combat Lyme disease.
I am sure you agree that Lyme disease patients and the public deserve more from our health care system.
I added this: IOWA is no. 15 in 2005's ticks and co-infections reported to CDC behind California.
Sincerely,
SIGNATURE (If email, no signature is necessary, but type in your first and last name) Your First & Last Name typed
Every congress person wants to know what THEIR STATE'S STATISTICS ARE! So please include this extra line in your email/letter to your DC house rep and later senators ! big thank you!
New York 9754 Pennsylvania 7642 New Jersey 5281 Connecticut 3497 Wisconsin 2786 Massachusetts 2369 Maryland 2177 Minnesota 1646 Delaware 1111 New Hampshire 823 Virginia 589 Maine 534 Rhode Island 274 California 264 Iowa 176 Vermont 157 Illinois 127 Michigan 116 Florida 106 Ohio 100 Texas 88 North Carolina 79 West Virginia 75 DC 69 Indiana 54 South Carolina 33 Missouri 27 Tennessee 20 Alabama 19 Oregon 18 Arizona 17 Washington 16 Nebraska 13 Georgia 13 Kentucky 12 Idaho 9 Utah 8 Kansas 8 Alaska 7 Nevada 6 New Mexico 5 Wyoming 4 South Dakota 3 Louisiana 3 North Dakota 3 Colorado 1 Mississippi 1 Arkansas 0 Guam 0 Hawaii 0 Oklahoma 0 Puerto Rico 0
now go to LDA site jenifer has shown above for YOUR state's reps to send this to! thanks every one!! every letter/email/phone call MAKES A DIFFERENCE TO OUR LYME LIVES! god bless you all!
[ 19. February 2007, 01:41 AM: Message edited by: bettyg ]
Posted by bettyg (Member # 6147) on :
jenifer, i just emailed
IOWAS REP. TOM LATHAM; are we to do the others in our states or ONLY REP for our district? thanks!!
2006 ... IOWA'S LEONARD BOSWELL WAS A CO-SPONSOR FOR BILL; only 1 out of 5 here!!! Posted by Neil M Martin (Member # 2357) on :
Thanks for this post.
I see Arizona Representative Raul Grijalva cosponsored HR 741. I asked Representative Giffords to do so also.
Posted by lalalu (Member # 10854) on :
Masschusetts Conressman Capuano is on board. Here is his response to me:
Thank you for taking the time to contact me regarding H.R. 3427, the Lyme and Tick-borne Disease Prevention, Education, and Research Act, and its status in Congress. I appreciate having your thoughts on this issue.
The legislation you inquired about was introduced during the 109th Congress. Unfortunately, that legislation, which would have provided funding for education and research on, and treatment of, Lyme Disease was not considered during the 109th Congress. On January 31, 2007, Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) re-introduced this legislation in the House as H.R. 741. I assure you that should this legislation come to the floor, I will have your views in mind.
Thank you again for taking the time to share your views with me. If my staff or I can be of any further assistance to you, please do not hesitate to contact my office.
Sincerely,
Michael E. Capuano Member of Congress
Posted by pmerv (Member # 1504) on :
HR 741 is identical to last year's bill to reduce confusion. If your legislators signed on last year, they should sign onto this bill as a co-sponsor. We ONLY have 32 co-sponsors so far.
Congresspeople signed on as of yesterday are:
Rep Ackerman, Gary L. [NY-5] - 1/31/2007 Rep Allen, Thomas H. [ME-1] - 2/28/2007 Rep Baird, Brian [WA-3] - 1/31/2007 Rep Bartlett, Roscoe G. [MD-6] - 2/28/2007 Rep Bean, Melissa L. [IL-8] - 1/31/2007 Rep Cummings, Elijah E. [MD-7] - 2/12/2007 Rep DeLauro, Rosa L. [CT-3] - 1/31/2007 Rep Drake, Thelma D. [VA-2] - 3/28/2007 Rep English, Phil [PA-3] - 3/7/2007 Rep Ferguson, Mike [NJ-7] - 2/15/2007 Rep Gerlach, Jim [PA-6] - 2/28/2007 Rep Gilchrest, Wayne T. [MD-1] - 1/31/2007 Rep Grijalva, Raul M. [AZ-7] - 1/31/2007 Rep Holden, Tim [PA-17] - 1/31/2007 Rep Kennedy, Patrick J. [RI-1] - 3/7/2007 Rep Kind, Ron [WI-3] - 3/9/2007 Rep Kirk, Mark Steven [IL-10] - 1/31/2007 Rep Langevin, James R. [RI-2] - 1/31/2007 Rep Lowey, Nita M. [NY-18] - 1/31/2007 Rep McHugh, John M. [NY-23] - 1/31/2007 Rep McNulty, Michael R. [NY-21] - 2/15/2007 Rep Platts, Todd Russell [PA-19] - 3/22/2007 Rep Ruppersberger, C. A. Dutch [MD-2] - 2/15/2007 Rep Shays, Christopher [CT-4] - 1/31/2007 Rep Stark, Fortney Pete [CA-13] - 2/28/2007 Rep Stupak, Bart [MI-1] - 1/31/2007 Rep Thompson, Mike [CA-1] - 2/12/2007 Rep Van Hollen, Chris [MD-8] - 3/1/2007 Rep Welch, Peter [VT] - 3/9/2007 Rep Wolf, Frank R. [VA-10] - 2/28/2007 Rep Woolsey, Lynn C. [CA-6] - 3/1/2007 Rep Wynn, Albert Russell [MD-4] - 2/12/2007
Tell the person who answers the phone that you are calling to ask them to sponsor the Lyme disease bill.
Give them the bill number, HR 741
They may ask for your zip code. Basically they just tally the calls and add up the totals at the end of the week to report back to the legislators. The more calls they get, the better.
I will be giving regular updates and if you don't see your legislator's name appear on the co-sponsor list, call and ask why not. You might be able to talk with your legislator's health aide and tell some of your story.
Massachusetts Congressman Capuano is NOT on board. Don't let your congressman slip away with a response like the generic letter above. I will post his letter on MassachusettsLyme and see if I can get some of his constituents to hammer on him. We want co-sponsors, not just yes votes. Without co-sponsors, it never will get out on the floor to be voted on.
These people are supposed to represent US!! Get in their face, people! pm
Posted by Soleilpie (Member # 8481) on :
I fully support this bill and I'm going to write my representatives, but I can't help but wonder what researchers will actually receive the funding to study Lyme.
I guess it's not good to think like that but if it goes to researchers who won't study Lyme properly, then it'll be a complete waste of tax payer money.
I pray that the right studies will be conducted should this bill pass.
Posted by bystander (Member # 11893) on :
Here's a quick link for both finding and emailing your representative:
IOWA HAS 1 OF 5 HOUSE REPS NOW CO-SPONSORING HR 741!
today, i received a letter from Rep TOM LATHAM covering central Iowa. Per my numerous attempts to get him to do this, he wrote he is NOW COSPONSORING this bill.
i hit him up with this on july 5 when he was in ames with sec. of agriculture, mike. took many followups!
hey IOWANS, HOW ARE YOU COMING ON GETTING YOUR HOUSE REP TO CO-SPONSOR THIS TOO????
TINCUP, DID YOU READ THIS?? hope so since you were bugging me about this 1-2 months ago! Posted by Cockapoo1996 (Member # 14238) on :
pmerv,
Thanks for your link. Phone calls are easy and gratifying. You get to tell someone:
"Please support bill HR 741 in favor of helping people with lyme disease".
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