Stamp Out Lyme Disease Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3491 To provide for the issuance of a Lyme Disease Research Semipostal Stamp. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 25, 2021 Mr. DELGADO (for himself, Mr. ZELDIN, and Mr. SMITH of New Jersey) in- troduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Over- sight and Reform, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Com- merce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdic- tion of the committee concerned A BILL To provide for the issuance of a Lyme Disease Research Semipostal Stamp. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Stamp Out Lyme Dis- 4 ease Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 6 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 7 (1) The Centers for Disease Control and Pre- 8 vention (CDC) estimate that 476,000 Lyme disease 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:28 Jul 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3491.IH H3491 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3491 IH cases are diagnosed and treated in the United States 1 annually. 2 (2) The CDC reports that Lyme disease is dif- 3 ficult to diagnose due to its diverse manifestations 4 and a lack of reliable testing options. 5 (3) The National Institutes of Health (NIH) re- 6 ports that a significant number of later-stage or 7 post-treatment Lyme disease patients are not cured. 8 (4) The Tick-Borne Disease Working Group re- 9 ports that 10 to 20 percent of Lyme disease patients 10 will suffer from persistent symptoms which can be 11 chronic and disabling. 12 (5) According to the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg 13 School of Public Health, Lyme disease costs the 14 United States healthcare system up to 15 $1,300,000,000 per year. 16 (b) PURPOSE.—To afford a convenient way for mem- 17 bers of the public to contribute to funding for Lyme dis- 18 ease and related tick-borne illness research within the Na- 19 tional Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the 20 United States Postal Service shall issue a semipostal 21 stamp (hereinafter in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Lyme 22 Disease Research Semipostal Stamp’’) in accordance with 23 this section. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:28 Jul 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3491.IH H3491 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3491 IH SEC. 3. LYME DISEASE RESEARCH SEMIPOSTAL STAMP. 1 (a) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—The issuance and sale 2 of the Lyme Disease Research Semipostal Stamp shall be 3 governed by the provisions of section 416 of title 39, 4 United States Code, and regulations issued under such 5 section. 6 (b) DISPOSITION OF PROCEEDS.— 7 (1) IN GENERAL.—All amounts becoming avail- 8 able from the sale of the Lyme Disease Research 9 Semipostal Stamp (as determined under section 10 416(d) of such title 39) shall be transferred to the 11 National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Dis- 12 eases, for the purpose described in subsection (a), 13 through payments which shall be made at least twice 14 a year. 15 (2) PROCEEDS NOT TO BE OFFSET.—In accord- 16 ance with section 416(d)(4) of such title 39, 17 amounts becoming available from the sale of the 18 Lyme Disease Research Semipostal Stamp (as so de- 19 termined) shall not be taken into account in any de- 20 cision relating to the level of appropriations or other 21 Federal funding to be furnished in any year to the 22 National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Dis- 23 eases. 24 (c) DURATION.—The Lyme Disease Research 25 Semipostal Stamp shall be made available to the public 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:28 Jul 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3491.IH H3491 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3491 IH for a period of at least 6 years, beginning no later than 1 12 months after the date of the enactment of this Act. 2 (d) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this Act, the term 3 ‘‘semipostal stamp’’ refers to a stamp described in section 4 416(a)(1) of title 39, United States Code. 5 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:28 Jul 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3491.IH H3491 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS