An amendment authored by New Jersey Congressman Chris Smith to investigate whether the U.S. military weaponized ticks with Lyme disease has been included in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26 NDAA) (S. 1071).

The NDAA has cleared the U.S. House of Representatives, headed to the Senate, and is expected to be signed by President Trump upon its final passage.

Smith’s amendment—now Sec. 1068 of the bill—directs the Government Accountability Office (GAO)—the Congressional “watchdog”—to investigate the Cold War-era Department of Defense bioweapons program and determine whether they ever used ticks as hosts or delivery mechanisms for biological warfare agents.

“New Jersey has one of the highest Lyme rates in the United States—the disease is present in all 21 counties,” noted Smith, Co-Chair of the Congressional Lyme and Tick-Borne Disease Caucus.

“The pervasive presence of Lyme disease in New Jersey not only carries concerns for civilians, but also for the military personnel stationed in the state—especially and including those serving at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, part of which is located within my congressional district.”

Specifically, Smith’s amendment in the NDAA compels the Comptroller General of the United States to conduct an exhaustive review of research conducted by the military, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and other federal agencies between the period of January 1, 1945 and December 31, 1972.

The review will focus on experiments involving Spirochaetales and Rickettsiales—two forms of tick-borne bacteria.

Investigating the origins of Lyme epidemic

“Now that this vital provision has advanced out of the House, we are one step closer to finally determining whether the U.S. government’s bioweapons program contributed to the proliferation of Lyme disease,” stated Smith. “If the GAO investigation concludes that our government’s bioweapons program was not involved, we turn the page.

“The hundreds of thousands of New Jerseyans suffering from Lyme disease—in addition to the millions across the United States—deserve to know the truth about the origins of their illness. An enhanced understanding of how Lyme came to be will only assist in finding a cure for this debilitating disease,” said Smith.

In previous Congresses, Smith offered two similar amendments—one in 2019 and the other in 2021—both of which passed the House, but were blocked in the Senate.

Smith’s amendments have been inspired in-part by the explosion of Lyme disease in New Jersey and Kris Newby’s book, Bitten: The Secret History of Lyme Disease and Biological Weapons.

The book includes in-depth interviews with and the personal files of Dr. Willy Burgdorfer—the federal researcher and U.S. bioweapons specialist credited with discovering Lyme disease. Burgdorfer later revealed that he and other bio-weapons specialists injected ticks with pathogens in order to cause severe disability, disease, and even death to potential enemies in unsuspecting ways.

PRESS RELEASE SOURCE: The office of Congressman Chris Smith