Chris Smith: “Much of what we have argued about for a quarter of a century has now been scientifically validated by the Working Group…”

“Much of what we have argued about for a quarter of a century has now been scientifically validated by the Working Group, including the fact that massive numbers of people are getting seriously ill from ticks and that the Federal response has been woefully inadequate. Let me point out to my colleagues that this amendment very simply boosts the amount of money that CDC will have to spend. Again, it was the Working Group that pointed out that in terms of prevalence, the number of diseases that are charted, no other disease, no other disability gets less funding for CDC or for NIH. I would say that is because there has been such a culture of denial by certain organizations about the prevalence of Lyme over the years, and that has really prevented the necessary work from happening. We are talking about, in 2017, $11 million for CDC and $28 million for the National Institutes of Health. That is a drop in the bucket for this infectious disease. CDC has recognized that there are 18 tick-borne pathogens in the U.S., and researchers and healthcare practitioners continue to discover emerging agents. The Working Group's report was able to underscore a fact many of us have believed to be true, and now it is further validated, that 10 to 20 percent of patients suffer from persistent symptoms, which are chronic and disabling--in other words, chronic Lyme. The diagnostic tests--and this is, again, where the research dollars can make a difference--are also often inaccurate.…”