By Jeff Crater

What can Lyme patients, friends, and relatives do to increase Federal funding for Lyme disease prevention and research for better diagnostics and cures?

Write your Members of Congress and Senators today and ask them to co-sponsor the TICK Act.

The TICK Act is a new bipartisan bill that brings greater focus on Lyme disease in the US government to support Lyme patients.

TICK is an acronym that stands for “Ticks: Identify, Control, and Knockout Act.” It was introduced in the Senate as S.1657 by Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Tina Smith (D-MN).

A companion bill (H.R.3073) was introduced in the House of Representatives by Lyme champions Representatives Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Collin Peterson (D-MN), both of whom Co-chair the House Lyme Disease Caucus.

Supported by both Democrats and Republicans, the TICK Act will improve federal coordination of Lyme initiatives and provide additional resources for prevention, early detection, and treatment of Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses.

Want to help encourage more investment in Lyme?  Here’s how:

• Click on these links to find your Representative or find your Senators
• Edit the letters below by inserting your specific information
• Send to your representatives by cutting and pasting the letter into the “contact us” page, emailing the office contact, or physically mailing to the mailing address

We hear all the time that your Congress members want to hear from you so they know how to vote.  The TICK Act is a great chance to influence the government about Lyme disease and to get more investment into this growing problem across the United States.  Don’t miss out on this opportunity.

Jeff Crater, of Falls Church, Virginia, has two children with Lyme disease. He is a co-founder and board member of Center for Lyme Action.

(The first message below is for senators. The second one is for representatives. Yellow highlights indicate places you should make changes.)

TICK ACT SAMPLE LETTER FOR SENATORS

[DATE]

[ADDRESS]

Dear __________

[As your constituent, I am OR I am writing on behalf of ORGANIZATION NAME], asking you to co-sponsor S.1657, the TICK Act.

The TICK Act stands for “Ticks: Identify, Control, and Knockout Act”. This important bipartisan legislation, introduced by Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Tina Smith (D-MN), would significantly improve coordination at the federal level and provide communities and states with resources for prevention, early detection, and treatment of Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases. Specifically, this legislation would:

(1) Establish an Office of Oversight and Coordination at HHS, to develop a National Strategy to expand research and improve testing and treatment affordability to fight tick-borne diseases;

(2) Reauthorize $10 million per year over the next five years for Regional Centers of Excellence in Vector-Borne Disease. These Centers collaborate with academia and public health agencies for surveillance, prevention, outbreak response;

(3) Authorize $20 million per year over the next five years in CDC Grants to States and communities across the country to raise awareness about Lyme and other tick-borne diseases, support early detection and diagnosis, and improve treatment.

Your support of S.1657, the TICK Act is urgently needed. The overall number of Americans infected by Lyme and tick-borne diseases is rising and there is no end in sight. Last year, there were 450,000 cases of Lyme, a 1,400 percent increase from 2003.

[Please WRITE YOUR OWN STORY HERE or DELETE. For example: I got Lyme disease in 2015, while hiking on my favorite trail in… The disease has been devastating, and I am still fighting it everyday].

Lyme disease costs our nation more than $75 billion per year, including direct medical costs and indirect costs such as loss of work. As your constituent, I urge you to join the effort to combat Lyme and other tick-borne diseases by co-sponsoring S.1657, TICK Act, and become an advocate for this urgently needed, and long overdue, legislation.

Sincerely,

[YOUR NAME]

TICK ACT SAMPLE LETTER FOR REPRESENTATIVES

[DATE]

[ADDRESS]

Dear __________

[As your constituent, I am OR I am writing on behalf of the ORGANIZATION NAME], asking you to co-sponsor H.R. 3073, the TICK Act.

The TICK Act stands for “Ticks: Identify, Control, and Knockout Act.” This important bipartisan legislation, introduced by Representatives Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Collin Peterson (D-MN), would significantly improve coordination at the federal level and provide communities and states with resources for prevention, early detection, and treatment of Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases. Specifically, this legislation would:

(1) Establish an Office of Oversight and Coordination at HHS, to develop a National Strategy to expand research and improve testing and treatment affordability to fight tick-borne diseases;

(2) Reauthorize $10 million per year over the next five years for Regional Centers of Excellence in Vector-Borne Disease. These Centers collaborate with academia and public health agencies for surveillance, prevention, outbreak response;

(3) Authorize $20 million per year over the next five years in CDC Grants to States and communities across the country to raise awareness about Lyme and other tick-borne diseases, support early detection and diagnosis, and improve treatment.

Your support of H.R 3073, the TICK Act, is urgently needed. The overall number of Americans infected by Lyme and tick-borne diseases is rising and there is no end in sight. Last year, there were 450,000 cases of Lyme, a 1,400 percent increase from 2003.

[Please WRITE YOUR OWN STORY HERE or DELETE. For example: I got Lyme disease in 2015, while hiking on my favorite trail in… The disease has been devastating, and I am still fighting it everyday].

Lyme disease costs our nation more than $75 billion per year, including direct medical costs and indirect costs such as loss of work. As your constituent, I urge you to join the effort to combat Lyme and other tick-borne diseases by co-sponsoring H.R. 3073, the TICK Act, and become an advocate for this urgently needed, and long overdue, legislation.

Sincerely,

[YOUR NAME]