Date: 1990-08-01
Speaker: DE LA GARZA (democrat)
Chamber: H

and the ranking minority member. Mr. MADIGAN for their hard work and bipartisan spirit in bringing this bill to the floor. I rise today in support of my amendment to H.R. 3950. the Food and Agricultural Resources Act which has been included in Chairman DE LA GARZAs en bloc amendment. My amendment authorizes $250.000 for each of the fiscal years 1991 through 1995 to be used by the Agricultural Research Service to assist research in the field of population ecology of deer ticks and other pests determined to transmit Lyme disease. Last week was Lyme Disease Awareness Week. which makes consideration of this amendment very timely. Many members of Congress are already aware that humans contract Lyme disease from deer ticks which thrive in wooded areas across the country. In fact. our former colleague. Berkley Bidell of Iowa. who served on the Agriculture Committee. contracted this ill. ness. While the disease can be treated. many of the early symptoms resemble flu characteristics and may not appear serious enough to require medical attention. If Ignored. however. Lyme disease can develop into a severe. very debilitating. and possibly fatal condition. With 45 States reporting a total of 8.367 cases in 1989. Lyme disease is a serious and growing public health threat. yet the only preventive measure currently available is public education. Study of the deer tick population and how it can be controlled offers another important opportunity to halt the spread of this disease. Scientific studies of tick environments and behavior will help develop methods of reducing tick populations. thereby lessening the spread of Lyme disease. The Federal Government should take a leadership role in encouraging this work which can help curb the dramatic growth of Lyme disease cases. The Department of Agriculture cooperates in many research projects concerning various insects and pests. including $1.6 million for tick research specifically. Funding this work through the Agriculture Research Service will permit scientists working on deer tick research to have the benefit of tick research funded by the Department of Agriculture. In this time of budgetary constraints. this amendment provides a resourceful solution to a very serious public health threat. This amendment authorizes a modest sum for support of research which holds the potential of reversing the dramatic growth of Lyme disease cases around the Nation. This funding would be awarded to a qualified independent researcher through a competitive grant process. - New York Medical College is already conducting preliminary work on tick ecology. Their plans include providing a sound ecological basis for improved efforts to detect. monitor. and control deer ticks. Current options for controlling tick populations are severly limited and work In control of tick populations is far behind that done on other disease carrying pests. New York Medical College researchers propose to develop tick population control technology. taking into account the effect current pesticides have on the environment and what naturally occurring factors discourage tick population growth. That is the kind of valuable work I hope can be supported under this authority. It is my understanding that my distinguished colleagues. the gentleman from California and the gentleman from Kansas . the chairman and ranking minority member of the subcommittee are supportive of this amendment. For that. I am most appreciative. I ask other Members to join in its approval.