119-hr4979

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4979 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 4979

 To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through 
 the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to 
 award grants to States to implement a tick identification pilot 
 program.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 August 15, 2025

 Mr. Gottheimer (for himself and Mr. Kean) introduced the following 
 bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through 
 the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to 
 award grants to States to implement a tick identification pilot 
 program.

 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 ``Tick Identification Pilot Program 
Act of 2025''.

SEC. 2. TICK IDENTIFICATION PILOT PROGRAM.

    (a) Establishment.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services, 
acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention, may award grants to States to implement a tick 
identification program.

    (b) Priority.--In awarding grants under this section, the Secretary 
shall give priority to States that--

    (1) have more reported cases of Lyme disease and other 
 tick-borne diseases; and

    (2) submit an effective plan for implementation and 
 maintenance of a tick identification program.
            (c) Program Requirements.--Any program funded under this section 
shall--

    (1) allow individuals to submit electronically photo images 
 of ticks encountered;

    (2) require images of ticks to be submitted with the likely 
 geographic location where the ticks were encountered, the date 
 on which the ticks were encountered, and the likely physical 
 location where the ticks were found (for example, on a pet, on 
 a human, or loose);

    (3) after review by a qualified professional, respond to 
 the individual directly within 72 hours of the image being 
 received with--
        (A) if possible, identification of the species and 
 life stage of the tick;
        (B) if possible, an estimate of the risk that the 
 tick carried a tick-borne disease;
            (C) a recommendation of the best practices for the 
 individual who encountered the tick, including with 
 respect to seeking medical evaluation and submitting 
 the tick for testing; and
            (D) additional education on best methods to avoid 
 ticks and prevent contagion of tick-borne illnesses; 
 and

    (4) maintain a database of reported tick incidents, 
 including--
        (A) the date, geographic location, and environment 
 of the encounter;
        (B) any identifying information about the tick that 
 was determined; and
            (C) best practices that were disseminated to each 
 reporting individual.
            (d) Application.--To seek a grant under this section, a State shall 
submit an application at such time, in such form, and containing such 
information as the Secretary may prescribe.

    (e) Data Collection; Report.--

    (1) Data collection.--The Secretary shall collect, with 
 respect to each State program funded under this section and 
 each fiscal year, the following data:
        (A) The number of tick incidents reported.
        (B) For each incident reported--
            (i) the date, geographic location, and 
 environment of the encounter;
            (ii) any identifying information about the 
 tick that was determined; and
            (iii) best practices that were disseminated 
 to each reporting individual.

    (2) Report.--Not later than 90 days after the first day of 
 each of fiscal years 2026 through 2029, the Secretary shall 
 prepare and submit to the Congress a report on the data 
 collected under paragraph

    (1) .

    (f) 

=== Definitions. ===
-In this section:

    (1) Qualified professional.--The term ``qualified 
 professional'' means a biologist with a background in vector 
 biology.

    (2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
 of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of 
 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
 <all>