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Congressman Christopher
Smith's Letter upon opening of Lyme & Tick-Borne Diseases Research
Center at Columbia University
Congress of the United States
House of Representatives
April 30, 2007
Committees:
Foreign Affairs
Africa and Global Health Subcommittee - Ranking Member
Western Hemisphere Subcommittee
Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe - Ranking Member
Dean, New Jersey Delegation
Dear Friends,
I sincerely regret that I cannot be with you today as I have a commitment in Washington related to my responsibilities as Ranking Member of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on
Africa and Global Health.
I want to offer my most heartfelt congratulations to all of you on this truly great occasion
in celebration of the opening of the Lyme & Tick-Born Diseases Research Center at Columbia
University. As someone who has been aggressively advocating for Lyme disease patients and
Lyme disease research since the early 1990's and who in that time has met with uncounted
numbers of Lyme disease patients and their families, I am so grateful that this -the first in the
world endowed research center for chronic Lyme disease -is opening. I am grateful because it
finally brings hope to so many chronically suffering patients -hope in the
very tangible and very impressive form of a research center at one of the most respected universities in the world and in
the form of internationally-renowned and multi-disciplined scientists devoted to solving the
mysteries of chronic Lyme disease.
In the first meeting I held in my office on Lyme disease in March 1992 with officials
from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health, Lyme
patients, and now Lyme Disease Association President Pat Smith, I felt both saddened and
challenged with how bleak the situation looked. After many years of advocacy, I hosted a
meeting last year with Pat Smith and other advocates, where Dr. Brain Fallon sat across the table
from CDC Director Gerberding to discuss some of his research findings regarding chronic Lyme,
and I was gratified that we were indeed making progress. But today, we can all agree that it's a
whole new ballgame, and I, like all of you, anxiously anticipate what the opening of this Chronic
Lyme Research Center will mean for Lyme disease patients.
Let me join in offering my sincerest thanks to Pat Smith, President of the Lyme Disease
Association, and to Diane Blanchard and Deb Siciliano, Co-Presidents of Time for Lyme, Inc.,
for the unbelievable efforts and resources they have devoted to the development and opening of
this Center. Let me say that it has been my pleasure to work with Pat for over 18 years, and
recently with Diane and Deb who have been kind enough on many occasions to share their
knowledge about Lyme disease issues with my staff. I'd also like to recognize and thank Dr.
Brian Fallon, the Director of the Research Center that we celebrate today for being an
indisputable champion of unearthing scientific truths about neurologic Lyme disease. Let me
also thank the often unsung heroes, the Boards of Directors for both the Lyme Disease
Association and Time for Lyme, Inc., and the many others nationwide who have contributed to
this great accomplishment.
Finally, let me tell you that to aid the fight against Lyme disease, I have registered in the
current Congress the Lyme Disease Caucus, which I am co-chairing with Representatives Bart
Stupak of Michigan and Tim Holden of Pennsylvania. In January, I introduced HR 741, the
"Lyme and Tick-Borne Diseases Prevention, Education, and Research Act of
2007," which provides an increase in total research, prevention, and education funding for Lyme and other
tick-borne diseases of $20 million per year over 5 years. The bill also establishes a Tick-Borne
Diseases Advisory Committee designed to be a focus of communication and coordination among
patient representatives, the scientific/medical community, and agencies. The Lyme community
has been seeking this voice for a decade. We already have 69 co-sponsors on this bill and we're
picking up steam. I am pushing hard for the Energy and Commerce Committee to hold a hearing
on this bill.
Congratulations again on the opening of the Lyme & Tick-Borne Diseases Research
Center at Columbia University. Let me assure you that I will remain committed to working in
Congress to fight for Lyme disease patients and those dedicated individuals, like so many of you,
devoted to helping them.
Sincerely,
Chris Smith
Member of Congress
Last Modified: May 16, 2007
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