JOINT RESOLUTION MEMORIALIZING THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES AND THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS TO ENACT THE LYME AND TICK-BORNE DISEASE PREVENTION, EDUCATION, AND RESEARCH ACT OF 2007

your Memorialists, the Members of the One Hundred and Twenty-third Legislature of the State of Maine now assembled in the First Regular Session, most respectfully present and petition the President of the United States and the United States Congress as follows:

WHEREAS,  Lyme disease is a common but frequently misunderstood illness that, if not caught early and treated properly, can cause serious health problems; and

WHEREAS,  Lyme disease is a bacterial infection that is usually transmitted by a tick bite, and early signs of infection may include a rash and flu-like symptoms such as fever, muscle aches, headaches and fatigue; and

WHEREAS,  although Lyme disease can be treated with antibiotics if caught early, the disease often goes undetected because it mimics other illnesses or may be misdiagnosed and, if untreated, can lead to severe heart, neurological, eye and joint problems because the bacteria can affect many different organs and organ systems; and

WHEREAS,  although Lyme disease accounts for 95% of all vector-borne infections in the United States, the ticks that spread the disease also spread other diseases such as ehrlichiosis, babesiosis and anaplasmosis; and

WHEREAS,  the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates that the reported cases of Lyme disease are only 10% of actual cases that meet its surveillance criteria; and

WHEREAS,  the persistence of symptomatology in many patients without reliable testing makes treatment of patients more difficult; and

WHEREAS,  the Lyme and Tick-Borne Disease Prevention, Education, and Research Act of 2007 has been introduced in the 110th United States Congress as H.R. 741; and

WHEREAS,  the Lyme and Tick-Borne Disease Prevention, Education, and Research Act of 2007 would advance the treatment of, and cure for, Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases by expanding federal efforts concerning prevention, education, treatment and research activities related to Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases by providing authorization for the appropriation of $20,000,000 for each of the federal fiscal years 2008 to 2012 for these activities; and

WHEREAS,  this legislation would also require the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services to annually report to the United States Congress on these activities and make recommendations for further research and education and would establish Tick-Borne Diseases Advisory Committee within the Office of the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services; now, therefore, be it

That We, your Memorialists, on behalf of the people we represent, respectfully urge and request that the President of the United States and the United States Congress enact the Lyme and Tick-Borne Disease Prevention, Education, and Research Act of 2007, which is currently pending in the United States Congress as H.R. 741 and any subsequent companion bill passed in the United States Senate; and be it further

That suitable copies of this resolution, duly authenticated by the Secretary of State, be transmitted to the Honorable George W. Bush, President of the United States, to the President of the United States Senate, to the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives and to each Member of the Maine Congressional Delegation.