Congress Can Help Stamp Out Lyme Disease Without Taxpayer $$

November 9, 2017─The Lyme Disease Association (LDA) announces that Congressman John Faso (NY-19) has introduced today into the US johnfasoCongressman John Faso NY-19House of Representatives a bipartisan bill, HR 4333, which if passed and signed into law, will provide some much needed monies for Lyme disease and related tick-borne illness research─research within the National Allergy & Infectious Diseases (NIAID), National Institutes of Health. Any monies raised by stamp sales will not affect the level of appropriations or other funding that NIAID would be able to receive in any given year.

LDA President Pat Smith has this to say about the bill: “The Lyme Disease Research Stamp Act introduced by Congressman Faso enables Congress to provide an opportunity to raise much needed funds for Lyme and other tick-borne diseases research, yet it does not add to the financial burden of the federal government. It enables individuals who want to support Lyme research–so that patients can get proper diagnosis and treatment–to do so without a strain on their budgets and without an unnecessary expenditure of time. Buy a Lyme stamp, help save a life! It’s a win-win situation.

The Lyme Disease Association urges all Congressmen and Senators to support the bill.

The stamp would be sold through the United States Post Office (USPS) at a price above the current first class postal rate. The USPO has “discretionary authority to issue and sell semipostal stamps to advance such causes as it considers to be ‘‘in the national public interest and appropriate.’’ See details of the program: https://about.usps.com/news/national-releases/2017/pr17_057.htm

Click here for the bill

Click here for Congressman Faso’s press release