For more: https://www.app.com/story/news/health/2019/12/19/lyme-disease-tick-act/2684931001/
Tick Act passed by Congress, but how much of $150M goes to Lyme disease research?
Excerpted from APP.com Pittsburgh : (12/19/2019)
It might have gone unnoticed by the public at large, but included in the massive spending package Congress passed Thursday was a bill of great importance to advocates for Lyme disease sufferers.
The Kay Hagan Tick Act, which provides a total of $150 million in funding over the next five years to combat tick- and vector-borne diseases, has roots in Monmouth County and is a potential game-changer for the Lyme community after decades of neglect by federal health authorities.
“I’m happy that finally, after many years of different bills trying to get something going, we have something that’s going to provide some monies,” said Wall resident Pat Smith, a member of the federal working group whose recommendations fueled the legislation. “But I’m waiting on what’s really going to happen when the monies get appropriated.”
Smith is concerned because of changes that took place after the bill was co-sponsored in the House of Representatives by U.S. Rep. Chris Smith — a Republican whose district includes parts of Monmouth, Ocean and Mercer counties — and Democrat U.S. Rep. Collin Peterson of Minnesota.
The key word there: potential.
Lyme Handbook 