Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, I rise to offer an amendment that would authorize the Secretary of Defense to make existing funds available from the Defense Health Program for collaboration with medical researchers and universities to address the growing number of tick- borne diseases through research and testing. The Army Public Health Center has operated a basic tick testing program for nearly 30 years. Through this program, military personnel can assess tick identification services through military healthcare facilities at no charge. However, the tests provided by this program are limited to only six tick-borne diseases, whereas the Centers for Disease Control and the Department of Defense have now identified 16 of these tick-borne diseases, some of which can be fatal. According to the Centers for Disease Control, around 30,000 cases of Lyme disease are reported each year. However, additional CDC research reveals the actual number of diagnoses could be as high as 300,000. And, alarmingly, nearly 20 percent of the people surveyed in areas with high incidence of Lyme disease were unaware that the disease was even a risk. This issue is of particular concern in my region. According to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, my district includes the counties with the five highest rates of Lyme disease in the Commonwealth, including Barnstable County, home of Joint Base Cape Cod. However, my region is not alone on this issue.…”