STATE OF ARKANSAS

	Title	1st Name	Last Name	DC Phone #	DC Fax	Links to reps e-mail forms	
AR	Congressman	Mike	Ross	(202) 225-3772	(202) 225-1314	http://ross.house.gov/?sectionid=77&sectiontree=76,77

Note: If e-mail doesn’t go through please send directly to the House Energy & Commerce Committee by    clicking this link http://energycommerce.house.gov/membios/contact_form.shtml

ACTION TO TAKE

1.	Contact Congressman Ross above 
2.      Use sample phone blurb & e-mail below 

A. PHONE BLURB asking House Energy & Commerce Committee members for bill support:

My name is _______________________________ and I am calling as a resident of Arkansas to let you know that I want you to push for a hearing on HR 741 the Lyme and tick-borne disease bill.  Very little money is spent for research on ticks and the many diseases they spread – a growing problem nationwide.  Contact Congressman Frank Pallone, Chairman of the House Health Subcommittee and tell him you want him to schedule a hearing on HR 741 in the House Health Subcommittee today!  Please also sign on to co-sponsor this bill. Thanks. 

(leave your name, address, contact info)

B. LETTER asking House Energy & Commerce Committee for support: 
     
     E-mail and/or fax your letter to the Washington, DC office. 
    (Blue font indicates areas for you to input – personalize if possible)

Your First & Last name
Your Street Address
City, State and Zip Code
Your Phone Number

Month, day, year

The Honorable Mike Ross
U.S. House of Representatives

Dear Representative Ross:

I am writing to ask you to contact Congressman Frank Pallone, Chair of the Energy and Commerce Health Sub Committee, and urge him to schedule HR 741 (Smith/Stupak) for a hearing in the Energy and Commerce Health sub committee as soon as possible.  I am also requesting, if you have not already done so, that you please sign on as co-sponsor to HR 741, “The Lyme and Tick-Borne Disease Prevention, Education, and Research Act of 2007,” which has a companion bill in the Senate (S 1708 Dodd/Schumer/Hagel).   
Tick-borne diseases (TBD), especially Lyme, are an increasing worldwide problem, with concerns expressed about Lyme disease by a number of agencies, including the UN and the World Health Organization, which are looking at global environmental and health-related issues.  Yet, funding is not forthcoming from government sources and has even decreased for Lyme despite rising case numbers.  In fact, its funding is being vastly overshadowed by funding for other less prevalent diseases like West Nile Virus (WNV).  In 2005, the government expended about $32.6 million (down from $33.6 million in 2004) on Lyme disease and $80.8 million (up from $77.6 million in 2004) on WNV, despite the fact that there were 8 times more Lyme cases reported than WNV cases.  
Additionally, there are 10 times more cases of Lyme disease that meet the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) criteria than are reported.  In 2005, the final CDC reported numbers show 23,305 reported Lyme disease cases nationally; translating into 233,050 actual new cases that met CDC criteria.  No one knows how many occurred that do not even fit CDC surveillance criteria. 
Lyme disease, the most common vector-borne disease in the United States, is usually contracted by the bite from a bacteria-infected tick.  In humans, infection with Lyme disease bacteria can lead to early symptoms such as severe headaches, debilitating fatigue, joint pain, and skin rashes, while long-term symptoms can lead to problems related to the central nervous system including the brain, heart, joints and other musculo-skeletal problems.  Symptoms of Lyme disease vary for each individual patient, and also vary in intensity over the course of the disease.

The long-term cost of Lyme disease to families, school systems, the health care system, and the economy is astounding.  According to a study published in 1993 in Contingencies, an actuarial trade publication, the cost to society for Lyme disease was about one billion dollars per year.  The average treatment and diagnosis and lost wages related to Lyme disease was $61,688 per year per patient.  Cases have more than doubled since then, so today’s costs are probably $2 Billion or more annually. 

Despite the prevalence, severity, and economic costs of this illness, patients with Lyme disease are having increased difficulty obtaining diagnosis and treatment.  You are in a unique position to right this wrong.  Your co-sponsorship, getting the bill on the Committee agenda and your vote for HR 741 (Smith/Stupak) are essential.  It will improve surveillance and prevention of Lyme disease, the development of accurate diagnostic tests, physician education, and it will fund additional research to determine long-term course of illness and the effectiveness of different treatments.  It also sets up a federal task force to coordinate the federal efforts to combat Lyme disease.

I am sure you agree that Lyme disease patients and the public deserve more from our health care system. 

Sincerely,
SIGNATURE (If email, no signature is necessary, but type in your name)
Your First & Last Name typed 

www.LymeDiseaseAssociation.org