Richard Blumenthal

They can't afford it because insurance won't cover it, or they've aged out of insurance.

Thank you Senator Blumenthal for being the voice of so many Lyme Sufferers throughout the country.

The numbers are increasing.

Do you talk to doctors? Do you talk to public health departments about this issue of underreporting?

Thanks to Senator Blumenthal's work in Connecticut while he was Attorney General, this doctor was more comfortable treating Lyme with long term antibiotics.

I think you have really summarized the urgency that so many of us feel about developing diagnostic and treatment tools and the pernicious and insidious effects of this disease, the suffering it causes, the destruction of lives.

We will make it part of the record.

Lyme disease is a serious public health issue that requires our immediate attention and action.

To what extent do you think that climate disruption, the warming trends that have become more noticeable, contribute to the spread of the ticks and the disease?

We have had the distinct pleasure of touring Senator Blumenthal through our Lyme Disease Registry and would like to thank him and other legislators here today for their commitment and ongoing dedication to this cause.

Well, we could go on with each of you, and, altogether, you have been enormously helpful.

We want to make this hearing as inclusive as possible, both for the scientific community and for laymen and patients and so forth.

The objective of bringing people together is also the goal of the legislation that Senator Gillibrand and I have introduced in the U.S. Senate.

We share a common concern with a disease that has really reached epidemic proportions.

I believe that Lyme disease has become almost an elitist illness, because you need a certain level of affluence to recover from it, unfortunately.

I feel so honored to be chosen to testify today, as I was in 2004 when I joined Senator Blumenthal to testify at a hearing on Lyme disease in Hartford.

I applaud Senator Blumenthal for all he has done in the past and his continuing effort.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, Lyme disease remains the fastest growing vector-borne infectious disease in the United States.

I am thankful for the opportunity but wonder how many times we can document the pain of constituents without change.

The time has truly come for all of us to join together and take strong action to eradicate tick-borne diseases and stop the needless suffering of so many families in Connecticut, in New York, and all around our country.

I want to thank Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa for giving me this opportunity.

These life stories, the changing lives as a result of this disease, I think, are really moving and inspiring.

There are about 40,000 cases of Lyme disease reported nationally each year.

Which in effect is a sham.

There are many low-income children receiving CCDF-funded care that are in poor quality programs, where providers lack the skills and resources necessary to provide high-quality early education, early care and education.