I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 665 

To provide for the establishment of the Tick-Borne Diseases Advisory 

Committee. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 2, 2015 

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey (for himself and Mr. PETERSON) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To provide for the establishment of the Tick-Borne Diseases 

Advisory Committee. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. ESTABLISHMENT OF A TICK-BORNE DISEASES 

4 ADVISORY COMMITTEE. 

5 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 days after 

6 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

7 Health and Human Services (referred to in this Act as 

8 the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall establish within the Office of the 

9 Secretary an advisory committee to be known as the TickVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:50 Feb 10, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H665.IH H665

SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 665 IH

1 Borne Diseases Advisory Committee (referred to in this 

2 section as the ‘‘Committee’’). 

3 (b) APPLICABILITY OF FACA.—The Tick-Borne Dis4 eases Advisory Committee shall be treated as an advisory 

5 committee subject to the Federal Advisory Committee Act. 

6 (c) DUTIES.—The Committee shall advise the Sec7 retary and the Assistant Secretary for Health regarding 

8 the manner in which such officials can— 

9 (1) ensure interagency coordination and com10 munication and minimize overlap regarding efforts 

11 to address tick-borne diseases; 

12 (2) identify opportunities to coordinate efforts 

13 with other Federal agencies and private organiza14 tions addressing such diseases; 

15 (3) ensure interagency coordination and com16 munication with constituency groups; 

17 (4) ensure that a broad spectrum of scientific 

18 viewpoints is represented in public health policy deci19 sions and that information disseminated to the pub20 lic and physicians is balanced; and 

21 (5) advise relevant Federal agencies on prior22 ities related to the Lyme and tick-borne diseases. 

23 (d) MEMBERSHIP.— 

24 (1) APPOINTED MEMBERS.— 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 665 IH

1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall ap2 point the voting members of the Committee 

3 from among individuals who are not officers or 

4 employees of the Federal Government. 

5 (B) GROUPS.—The voting members of the 

6 Committee shall include the following: 

7 (i) At least 4 members from the sci8 entific community representing the broad 

9 spectrum of viewpoints held within the sci10 entific community related to Lyme and 

11 other tick-borne diseases. 

12 (ii) At least 2 representatives of tick13 borne disease voluntary organizations. 

14 (iii) At least 2 health care providers, 

15 including at least 1 full-time practicing 

16 physician, with relevant experience pro17 viding care for individuals with a broad 

18 range of acute and chronic tick-borne dis19 eases. 

20 (iv) At least 2 patient representatives 

21 who are individuals who have been diag22 nosed with a tick-borne disease or who 

23 have had an immediate family member di24 agnosed with such a disease. 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 665 IH

1 (v) At least 2 representatives of State 

2 and local health departments from States 

3 with the highest incidence of Lyme disease 

4 or where Lyme disease is recognized as an 

5 emerging threat, or national organizations 

6 that represent State and local health pro7 fessionals. 

8 (C) DIVERSITY.—In appointing members 

9 under this paragraph, the Secretary shall en10 sure that such members, as a group, represent 

11 a diversity of scientific perspectives relevant to 

12 the duties of the Committee. 

13 (2) EX OFFICIO MEMBERS.—The Secretary 

14 shall designate, as nonvoting, ex officio members of 

15 the Committee, representatives overseeing tick-borne 

16 disease activities from each of the following Federal 

17 agencies: 

18 (A) The Centers for Disease Control and 

19 Prevention. 

20 (B) The National Institutes of Health. 

21 (C) The Agency for Healthcare Research 

22 and Quality. 

23 (D) The Food and Drug Administration. 

24 (E) The Office of the Assistant Secretary 

25 for Health. 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 665 IH

1 (F) Such additional Federal agencies as 

2 the Secretary determines to be appropriate. 

3 (3) CO-CHAIRPERSONS.—The Secretary shall 

4 designate the Assistant Secretary for Health as the 

5 co-chairperson of the Committee. The appointed 

6 members of the Committee shall also elect a public 

7 co-chairperson. The public co-chairperson shall serve 

8 a 2-year term. 

9 (4) TERM OF APPOINTMENT.—The term of 

10 service for each member of the Committee appointed 

11 under paragraph (1) shall be 4 years. 

12 (5) VACANCY.—A vacancy in the membership of 

13 the Committee shall be filled in the same manner as 

14 the original appointment. Any member appointed to 

15 fill a vacancy for an unexpired term shall be ap16 pointed for the remainder of that term. Members 

17 may serve after the expiration of their terms until 

18 their successors have taken office. 

19 (e) MEETINGS.—The Committee shall hold public 

20 meetings after providing notice to the public of such meet21 ings, and shall meet at least twice a year with additional 

22 meetings subject to the call of the co-chairpersons. Agenda 

23 items with respect to such meetings may be added at the 

24 request of the members of the Committee, including the 

25 co-chairpersons. Meetings shall be conducted, and records 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 665 IH

1 of the proceedings shall be maintained, as required by ap2 plicable law and by regulations of the Secretary. 

3 (f) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

4 of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the 

5 Committee, through the Director of the Centers for Dis6 ease Control and Prevention and the Director of the Na7 tional Institutes of Health, shall submit a report to the 

8 Secretary. Each such report shall contain, at a min9 imum— 

10 (1) a description of the Committee’s functions; 

11 (2) a list of the Committee’s members and their 

12 affiliations; and 

13 (3) a summary of the Committee’s activities 

14 and recommendations during the previous year, in15 cluding any significant issues regarding the func16 tioning of the Committee. 

17 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Of the 

18 amounts made available to the Department of Health and 

19 Human Services for general departmental management 

20 for fiscal years 2015 through 2019, there is authorized 

21 to be appropriated $250,000 for each of such fiscal years 

22 to carry out this Act. Amounts made available to carry 

23 out this Act shall be used for the expenses and per diem 

24 costs incurred by the Committee under this section in ac25 cordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act, except 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 665 IH

1 that no voting member of the Committee shall be a perma2 nent salaried employee of the Federal Government. 

Æ 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS