From the Center for Lyme Action:

With five active tick-borne disease bills in the House of Representatives, we need all hands on deck to make sure these critical measures move forward.

Your voice matters, and by meeting virtually with your U.S. Representative’s office, you can help ensure these bills get the cosponsors needed in the coming weeks.

How You Can Help

Participate in our New House Tick Bills Letter Campaign to advocate for the passage of these five critical bills.

Did you already send a letter?

If you’ve previously sent a letter advocating for the Reauthorization of the Kay Hagan Tick Act, thank you! Please note: this new letter campaign is advocating for four additional new bills, so even if you sent the first one, please send again.

What’s Next?

Consider meeting online with your House Member’s office to discuss these bills. We’re here to help you prepare—just follow these steps:

1. Fill out this form to indicate your willingness to take a meeting and what level of support you need.
2. Attend a drop-in clinic if you’d like guidance or support in preparing.
3. Use the meeting request email template and the script/talking points (shared after completing Form #1).
4. Submit a meeting follow-up report using this form so we can track our collective impact.
5. Download and send this House One-Pager to the staff member you meet with as a follow-up.

Once you complete Form #1, you’ll receive details for who to contact and talking points by email. 

You are welcome to join any clinic session for help with requesting a meeting, reviewing your talking points, or practicing.

Why this matters

We are urging the 119th Congress to swiftly pass the following:

• Reauthorization of the Kay Hagan Tick Act (H.R. 4348) – Continues implementation of the National Strategy for Vector-Borne Diseases, reauthorizes Regional Centers of Excellence, and funds state health department grants to strengthen infrastructure for Lyme and other tick-borne diseases.

• Stamp Out Lyme Disease Act (H.R. 4981) – Establishes a new postage stamp to raise supplemental research funding at NIH, boosting R&D investment for Lyme and tick-borne disease treatments.

• Tick Identification Pilot Program Act (H.R. 4979) – Funds state-level rapid tick identification programs, improving prevention and outbreak response.

• BITE Act – Battling Infections Transmitted by Ticks and Exposure (H.R. 4980) – Creates the first national response system for tick-borne and other vector-borne diseases. Uses AI to monitor high-risk areas and alert nearby families via mobile phones.

• Alpha-gal Allergen Inclusion Act (H.R. 1178) – Expands the definition of major food allergens to include galactose-alpha-1,3-galactose (alpha-gal), the 10th most common U.S. food allergy, caused by tick bites.

Our Asks for Your U.S. Representative:

✅ Cosponsor H.R. 4348, H.R. 4981, H.R. 4979, H.R. 4980, and H.R. 1178
✅ Join the Bipartisan Tick-Borne Disease Caucus

Thank you for lending your time and voice to this effort. Together, we can ensure our nation is prepared to prevent, detect, and respond to tick-borne diseases.

Click here to learn more about the Center for Lyme Action.