(1) The incidence of Lyme disease in the
United States is increasing more rapidly than most
other diseases. The Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention has determined that, since 1982, there
has been a 32-fold increase in reported cases.
(2) For 1996, such Centers determined that
16,455 cases of the disease were reported.
(3) There is no reliable standardized diagnostic
test for Lyme disease, and it is therefore likely that
the disease is severely underreported. The disease is
often misdiagnosed because the symptoms of the dis-
ease mimic other health conditions.
(4) Lyme disease costs our Nation at least
$60,000,000 a year in direct medical costs for early,
acute cases. The costs of chronic cases of the dis-
ease, as well as the costs of lost wages and produc-
tivity, are many times higher.
(5) Many health care providers lack the nec-
essary knowledge and expertise—particularly in non-
endemic areas—to accurately diagnose Lyme dis-
ease. As a result, patients often visit multiple doc-
tors before obtaining a diagnosis of the disease, re-
sulting in prolonged pain and suffering, unnecessary
tests, and costly and futile treatments.
SEC. 3. PUBLIC HEALTH GOALS; FIVE-YEAR PLAN.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and
Human Services (acting as appropriate through the Direc-
tor of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and
the Director of the National Institutes of Health) and the
Secretary of Defense shall collaborate to carry out the fol-
lowing:
(1) The Secretaries shall establish the goals de-
scribed in subsections (c) through (f) (relating to ac-
tivities to provide for a reduction in the incidence
and prevalence of Lyme disease).
(2) The Secretaries shall carry out activities to-
ward achieving the goals, which may include activi-
ties carried out directly by the Secretaries and ac-
tivities carried out through awards of grants or con-
tracts to public or nonprofit private entities.
(3) In carrying out paragraph (2), the Secretar-
ies shall give priority—
(A) first, to achieving the goal under sub-
section (c);
(B) second, to achieving the goal under
subsection (d);
(C) third, to achieving the goal under sub-
section (e); and
(D) fourth, to achieving the goal under
subsection (f).
(b) FIVE-YEAR PLAN.—In carrying out subsection
(a), the Secretaries shall establish a plan that, for the five
fiscal years following the date of the enactment of this
Act, provides for the activities to be carried out during
such fiscal years toward achieving the goals under sub-
sections (c) through section (f). The plan shall, as appro-
priate to such goals, provide for the coordination of pro-
grams and activities regarding Lyme disease that are con-
ducted or supported by the Federal Government.
(c) FIRST GOAL: DETECTION TEST.—For purposes
of subsection (a), the goal described in this subsection is
the development, by the expiration of the 18-period begin-
ning on the date of the enactment of this Act, of—
(1) a test for accurately determining whether
an individual who has been bitten by a tick has
Lyme disease; and
(2) a test for accurately determining whether a
patient with such disease has been cured of the dis-
ease.
(d) SECOND GOAL: IMPROVED SURVEILLANCE AND
REPORTING SYSTEM.—For purposes of subsection (a), the
goal described in this subsection is to review the system
in the United States for surveillance and reporting with
respect to Lyme disease and to determine whether and in
what manner the system can be improved (relative to the
date of the enactment of this Act). In carrying out activi-
ties toward such goal, the Secretaries shall—
(1) consult with the States, units of local gov-
ernment, physicians, patients with Lyme disease,
and organizations representing such patients;
(2) consider whether uniform formats should be
developed for the reporting by physicians of cases of
Lyme disease to public health officials; and
(3) with respect to health conditions that are
reported by physicians as cases of Lyme disease but
do not meet the criteria established by the Director
of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to
be counted as such cases, consider whether data on
such health conditions should be maintained and
analyzed to assist in understanding the cir-
cumstances in which Lyme disease is being diag-
nosed and the manner in which it is being treated.
(e) THIRD GOAL: INDICATOR REGARDING ACCURATE
DIAGNOSIS.—For purposes of subsection (a), the goal de-
scribed in this subsection is to determine the average num-
ber of visits to physicians that are made by patients with
Lyme disease before a diagnosis of such disease is made.
In carrying out activities toward such goal, the Secretaries
shall conduct a study of patients and physicians in two
or more geographic areas in which there is a significant
incidence or prevalence of cases of Lyme disease.
(f) FOURTH GOAL: PHYSICIAN KNOWLEDGE.—For
purposes of subsection (a), the goals described in this sub-
section are to make a significant increase in the number
of physicians who have an appropriate level of knowledge
regarding Lyme disease, and to develop and apply an ob-
jective method of determining the number of physicians
who have such knowledge.
SEC. 4. LYME DISEASE TASKFORCE.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120 days after the
date of enactment of this Act, there shall be established
in accordance with this section an advisory committee to
be known as the Lyme Disease Taskforce (in this section
referred to as the Task Force).
(b) DUTIES.—The Task Force shall provide advice
to the Secretaries with respect to achieving the goals
under section 3, including advice on the plan under sub-
section (b) of such section.
(c) COMPOSITION.—The Task Force shall be com-
posed of nine members with appropriate knowledge or ex-
perience regarding Lyme disease. Of such members—
(1) two shall be appointed by the Secretary of
Health and Human Services, after consultation with
the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention;
(2) two shall be appointed by the Secretary of
Health and Human Services, after consultation with
the Director of the National Institutes of Health;
(3) one shall be appointed by the Secretary of
Defense;
(4) two shall be appointed by the Speaker of
the House of Representatives, after consultation
with the Minority Leader of the House; and
(5) two shall be appointed by the President Pro
Tempore of the Senate, after consultation with the
Minority Leader of the Senate.
(d) CHAIR.—The Task Force shall, from among the
members of the Task Force, designate an individual to
serve as the chair of the Task Force.
(e) MEETINGS.—The Task Force shall meet at the
call of the Chair or a majority of the members.
(f) TERM OF SERVICE.—The term of service of a
member of the Task Force is the duration of the Task
Force.
(g) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy in the membership of
the Task Force shall be filled in the manner in which the
original appointment was made and does not affect the
power of the remaining members to carry out the duties
of the Task Force.
(h) COMPENSATION; REIMBURSEMENT
OF
EX-
PENSES.—Members of the Task Force may not receive
compensation for service on the Task Force. Such mem-
bers may, in accordance with chapter 57 of title 5, United
States Code, be reimbursed for travel, subsistence, and
other necessary expenses incurred in carrying out the du-
ties of the Task Force.
(i) STAFF; ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT.—The Sec-
retary of Health and Human Services shall, on a reim-
bursable basis, provide to the Task Force such staff, ad-
ministrative support, and other assistance as may be nec-
essary for the Task Force to carry out the duties under
subsection (b) effectively.
(j) TERMINATION.—The Task Force terminates 90
days after the end of the fifth fiscal year that begins after
the date of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 5. ANNUAL REPORTS.
The Secretaries shall submit to the Congress periodic
reports on the activities carried out under this Act and
the extent of progress being made toward the goals estab-
lished under section 3. The first such report shall be sub-
mitted not later than 18 months after the date of the en-
actment of this Act, and subsequent reports shall be sub-
mitted annually thereafter until the goals are met.
SEC. 6. DEFINITION.
For purposes of this Act, the term ‘‘Secretaries’’
means—
(1) the Secretary of Health and Human Serv-
ices, acting as appropriate through the Director of
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and
the Director of the National Institutes of Health;
and
(2) the Secretary of Defense.
SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
(a) NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH.—In addi-
tion to other authorizations of appropriations that are
available for carrying out the purposes described in this
Act and that are established for the National Institutes
of Health, there are authorized to be appropriated to the
Director of such Institutes for such purposes $9,000,000
for each of the fiscal years 1999 through 2003.
(b) CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVEN-
TION.—In addition to other authorizations of appropria-
tions that are available for carrying out the purposes de-
scribed in this Act and that are established for the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention, there are authorized
to be appropriated to the Director of such Centers for such
purposes $8,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 1999
through 2003.
(c) DEPARTMENT
OF DEFENSE.—In addition to
other authorizations of appropriations that are available
for carrying out the purposes described in this Act and
that are established for the Department of Defense, there
are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of De-
fense for such purposes $3,000,000 for each of the fiscal
years 1999 through 2003.
SEC. 8. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.
It is the sense of the Congress that the Food and
Drug Administration should—
(1) conduct a rapid and thorough review of new
drug applications for drugs to immunize individuals
against Lyme disease.
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