I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2557 

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

Committee. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 15, 2011 

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey (for himself, Mr. WOLF, Mr. HOLDEN, and Mr. 

GIBSON) 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 Mar 15 2010 02:44 Jul 16, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2557.IH H2557

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1 Borne Diseases Advisory Committee (referred to in this 

2 section as the ‘‘Committee’’). 

3 (b) DUTIES.—The Committee shall advise the Sec4 retary and the Assistant Secretary for Health regarding 

5 the manner in which such officials can— 

6 (1) ensure interagency coordination and com7 munication and minimize overlap regarding efforts 

8 to address tick-borne diseases; 

9 (2) identify opportunities to coordinate efforts 

10 with other Federal agencies and private organiza11 tions addressing such diseases; 

12 (3) ensure interagency coordination and com13 munication with constituency groups; 

14 (4) ensure that a broad spectrum of scientific 

15 viewpoints is represented in public health policy deci16 sions and that information disseminated to the pub17 lic and physicians is balanced; and 

18 (5) advise relevant Federal agencies on prior19 ities related to the Lyme and tick-borne diseases. 

20 (c) MEMBERSHIP.— 

21 (1) APPOINTED MEMBERS.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall ap23 point the voting members of the Committee 

24 from among individuals who are not officers or 

25 employees of the Federal Government. 


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

2 Committee shall include the following: 

3 (i) At least 4 members from the sci4 entific community representing the broad 

5 spectrum of viewpoints held within the sci6 entific community related to Lyme and 

7 other tick-borne diseases. 

8 (ii) At least 2 representatives of tick9 borne disease voluntary organizations. 

10 (iii) At least 2 health care providers, 

11 including at least 1 full-time practicing 

12 physician, with relevant experience pro13 viding care for individuals with a broad 

14 range of acute and chronic tick-borne dis15 eases. 

16 (iv) At least 2 patient representatives 

17 who are individuals who have been diag18 nosed with a tick-borne disease or who 

19 have had an immediate family member di20 agnosed with such a disease. 

21 (v) At least 2 representatives of State 

22 and local health departments and national 

23 organizations that represent State and 

24 local health professionals. 


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1 (C) DIVERSITY.—In appointing members 

2 under this paragraph, the Secretary shall en3 sure that such members, as a group, represent 

4 a diversity of scientific perspectives relevant to 

5 the duties of the Committee. 

6 (2) EX OFFICIO MEMBERS.—The Secretary 

7 shall designate, as nonvoting, ex officio members of 

8 the Committee, representatives overseeing tick-borne 

9 disease activities from each of the following Federal 

10 agencies: 

11 (A) The Centers for Disease Control and 

12 Prevention. 

13 (B) The National Institutes of Health. 

14 (C) The Agency for Healthcare Research 

15 and Quality. 

16 (D) The Food and Drug Administration. 

17 (E) The Office of the Assistant Secretary 

18 for Health. 

19 (F) Such additional Federal agencies as 

20 the Secretary determines to be appropriate. 

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

22 designate the Assistant Secretary for Health as the 

23 co-chairperson of the Committee. The appointed 

24 members of the Committee shall also elect a public 


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

2 a 2-year term. 

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

4 service for each member of the Committee appointed 

5 under paragraph (1) shall be 4 years. 

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

7 the Committee shall be filled in the same manner as 

8 the original appointment. Any member appointed to 

9 fill a vacancy for an unexpired term shall be ap10 pointed for the remainder of that term. Members 

11 may serve after the expiration of their terms until 

12 their successors have taken office. 

13 (d) MEETINGS.—The Committee shall hold public 

14 meetings, except as otherwise determined by the Sec15 retary, after providing notice to the public of such meet16 ings, and shall meet at least twice a year with additional 

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

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

19 request of the members of the Committee, including the 

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

21 of the proceedings shall be maintained, as required by ap22 plicable law and by regulations of the Secretary. 

23 (e) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

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

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1 ease Control and Prevention and the Director of the Na2 tional Institutes of Health, shall submit a report to the 

3 Secretary. Each such report shall contain, at a min4 imum— 

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

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

7 affiliations; and 

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

9 and recommendations during the previous year, in10 cluding any significant issues regarding the func11 tioning of the Committee. 

12 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Of the 

13 amounts made available to the Department of Health and 

14 Human Services for general departmental management 

15 for fiscal years 2012 through 2016, there is authorized 

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

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

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

19 costs incurred by the Committee under this section in ac20 cordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act, except 

21 that no voting member of the Committee shall be a perma22 nent salaried employee. 

Æ 


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