Stamp Out Lyme Disease Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 5299 To provide for the issuance of a Lyme Disease Research Semipostal Stamp. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES DECEMBER 4, 2019 Mr. DELGADO (for himself, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Mr. PETERSON, and Mr. ZELDIN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Reform, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall with- in the jurisdiction 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) According to the Tick-Borne Disease Work- 8 ing Group, an estimated 291,430 to 437,150 new 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:19 Dec 10, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5299.IH H5299 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 5299 IH cases of Lyme disease were reported in the United 1 States in 2016. 2 (2) The Centers for Disease Control and Pre- 3 vention (CDC) reports that Lyme disease is difficult 4 to diagnose due to its diverse manifestations and a 5 lack of reliable testing options. 6 (3) The National Institutes of Health (NIH) 7 discovered that while Lyme disease symptoms can be 8 managed with proper care, the disease currently has 9 no cure. 10 (4) The Tick-Borne Disease Working Group re- 11 ports that 10 to 20 percent of Lyme disease patients 12 will suffer from persistent symptoms which can be 13 chronic and disabling. 14 (5) According to the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg 15 School of Public Health, Lyme disease costs the 16 United States healthcare system up to 17 $1,300,000,000 dollars per year. 18 (b) PURPOSE.—To afford a convenient way for mem- 19 bers of the public to contribute to funding for Lyme dis- 20 ease and related tick-borne illness research within the Na- 21 tional Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the 22 United States Postal Service shall issue a semipostal 23 stamp (hereinafter in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Lyme 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:19 Dec 10, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5299.IH H5299 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 5299 IH Disease Research Semipostal Stamp’’) in accordance with 1 this section. 2 SEC. 3. LYME DISEASE RESEARCH SEMIPOSTAL STAMP. 3 (a) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—The issuance and sale 4 of the Lyme Disease Research Semipostal Stamp shall be 5 governed by the provisions of section 416 of title 39, 6 United States Code, and regulations issued under such 7 section. 8 (b) DISPOSITION OF PROCEEDS.— 9 (1) IN GENERAL.—All amounts becoming avail- 10 able from the sale of the Lyme Disease Research 11 Semipostal Stamp (as determined under section 12 416(d) of such title 39) shall be transferred to the 13 National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Dis- 14 eases, for the purpose described in subsection (a), 15 through payments which shall be made at least twice 16 a year. 17 (2) PROCEEDS NOT TO BE OFFSET.—In accord- 18 ance with section 416(d)(4) of such title 39, 19 amounts becoming available from the sale of the 20 Lyme Disease Research Semipostal Stamp (as so de- 21 termined) shall not be taken into account in any de- 22 cision relating to the level of appropriations or other 23 Federal funding to be furnished in any year to the 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:19 Dec 10, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5299.IH H5299 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 5299 IH National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Dis- 1 eases. 2 (c) DURATION.—The Lyme Disease Research 3 Semipostal Stamp shall be made available to the public 4 for a period of at least 6 years, beginning no later than 5 12 months after the date of the enactment of this Act. 6 (d) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this Act, the term 7 ‘‘semipostal stamp’’ refers to a stamp described in section 8 416(a)(1) of title 39, United States Code. 9 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:19 Dec 10, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H5299.IH H5299 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS