[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2813 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2813

 To amend the Public Health Service Act to establish programs for the 
                prevention and control of Lyme disease.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 30, 1993

Mr. Hochbrueckner introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
                  the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Public Health Service Act to establish programs for the 
                prevention and control of Lyme disease.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Lyme Disease Prevention, Control, 
and Research Amendments of 1993''.

SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAMS FOR PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF LYME 
              DISEASE.

    Title III of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 241 et seq.), 
as amended by section 308 of Public Law 102-531 (106 Stat. 3495), is 
amended by inserting after section 317D the following section:

                ``prevention and control of lyme disease

    ``Sec. 317E. (a) General Program.--
            ``(1) Program of grants.--The Secretary, acting through the 
        Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, may 
        make grants to public and nonprofit private entities for the 
        purpose of carrying out programs for the prevention, control, 
        and treatment of Lyme disease.
            ``(2) Preferences in making grants.--In making grants under 
        paragraph (1), the Secretary shall give preference to public 
        and nonprofit private entities that agree to carry out the 
        purposes for which the grant is made in 1 or more States for 
        which, as of calendar year 1990--
                    ``(A) a cumulative total of not less than 500 cases 
                of Lyme disease was reported to and confirmed by the 
                Director of the Centers for Disease Control and 
                Prevention; or
                    ``(B) the cumulative per capita incidence of cases 
                of such disease (reported to and confirmed by such 
                Director) was not less than 5 cases per 100,000 
                individuals.
            ``(3) Priorities among authorized purposes.--In making 
        grants under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall give priority 
        to making grants for the following:
                    ``(A) The development and evaluation of strategies 
                for the prevention and control of Lyme disease 
                (including, with respect to the tick that carries the 
                etiologic agent for the disease, strategies to manage 
                deer and other means through which the tick is 
                introduced into areas frequented by humans).
                    ``(B) Demonstration projects (administered by State 
                or local departments of health) to improve methods of 
                estimating the incidence and prevalence of such 
                disease, including projects involving the reporting by 
                physicians of cases of the disease.
                    ``(C) Demonstration projects for the control of the 
                disease in communities with a substantial incidence or 
                prevalence of the disease.
                    ``(D) Studies to determine the effects of the 
                disease on the individual and on society, including the 
                economic costs of the disease.
                    ``(E) The improvement of diagnostic tests for the 
                disease.
                    ``(F) The provision of information and education to 
                health care professionals and the public.
                    ``(G) Demonstration projects for treating children 
                for such disease.
    ``(b) National Research Centers for Prevention, Control, and 
Treatment.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary, acting through the 
        Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, may 
        make awards of grants or contracts to public and nonprofit 
        private entities for the establishment or operation (or both) 
        of not more than 5 centers to carry out basic and clinical 
        research on the prevention, control, and treatment of Lyme 
        disease.
            ``(2) Preferences in making awards.--In making awards under 
        paragraph (1) for a center, the Secretary shall give preference 
        to an applicant according to the extent to which the following 
        applies to the applicant:
                    ``(A) The applicant is experienced in conducting 
                research on the prevention, control, and treatment of 
                Lyme disease.
                    ``(B) The center is or will be located in a State 
                described in subsection (a)(2).
                    ``(C) The center is or will be located in a 
                geographic area in which individuals are employed in 
                occupations involving a significant risk of contracting 
                Lyme disease.
                    ``(D) The applicant has diagnosed not less than 150 
                cases of such disease.
                    ``(E) The applicant has cultured the etiologic 
                agent for Lyme disease in mediums from vectors, from 
                animals, and from humans.
            ``(3) Priorities among activities of centers.--The 
        Secretary may make an award under paragraph (1) only if the 
        applicant involved agrees that the center for which the award 
        is made will give priority to the following:
                    ``(A) Conducting research on new treatments for 
                Lyme disease.
                    ``(B) Conducting research on the development of a 
                vaccine to immunize individuals against the disease.
                    ``(C) Conducting studies of the latter stages of 
                such disease.
                    ``(D) Conducting epidemiological studies of such 
                disease in particular populations of individuals.
            ``(4) Amount of award.--The Secretary may not make an award 
        under paragraph (1) in an amount less than $500,000.
    ``(c) Application for Assistance.--The Secretary may make an award 
of a grant or contract under subsection (a) or (b) only if an 
application for the award is submitted to the Secretary and the 
application is in such form, is made in such manner, and contains such 
agreements, assurances, and information as the Secretary determines to 
be necessary to carry out such subsection.
    ``(d) Funding.--
            ``(1) Authorization of appropriations.--For the purpose of 
        carrying out this section, there are authorized to be 
        appropriated $4,000,000 for fiscal year 1994, and such sums as 
        may be necessary for each of the fiscal years 1995 and 1996. 
        Such authorization of appropriations is in addition to any 
        other authorization of appropriations that is available for 
        such purpose.
            ``(2) Allocations.--Of the amounts appropriated under 
        paragraph (1) for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall make 
        available 40 percent for carrying out subsection (a) and 60 
        percent for carrying out subsection (b).''.

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