00:00Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
00:02I, first of all, want to thank you for including S-2389, the K-Hagan Tick Reauthorization Act, in today's markup.
00:14I authored the original Tick Act in 2019 with Senator Tina Smith.
00:21Our bipartisan legislation strengthened federal efforts to confront the escalating incidence of Lyme disease and other vector-borne illnesses.
00:32Our bill is named after our former colleague, Senator Kay Hagan, who passed away in October 2019 from complications of a deadly tick-borne disease known as the Powassan virus.
00:51It is my hope that reauthorizing the Tick Act will help to prevent further tragedies.
00:57The incidence of tick-borne diseases has exploded in the past 20 years.
01:06Maine reached a new Lyme disease record last year with 3,218 reported cases.
01:15This is more than double the number of cases reported in Maine just five years ago.
01:22I'm encouraged that we've made progress in the five years since this bill was first introduced.
01:29For example, a clinical trial for Lyme disease vaccine for people is underway right now at Maine Health's Institute for Research.
01:42Reauthorizing the Tick Act would allow crucial developments, such as the development of a vaccine, to continue.
01:52The Tick Act uses a three-pronged approach to address Lyme and other tick and vector-borne diseases.
02:01This approach consists of, first, implementing HHS's national strategy to combat vector-borne disease.
02:10Second, reauthorizing funding for the CDC's four centers of excellence in vector-borne disease.
02:18And third, reauthorizing grants to state and local health departments to assist them in bolstering their public health infrastructure.
02:28I want to thank Senator Smith for partnering with me, as well as our 13 bipartisan co-sponsors,
02:36including members of this committee, Senators Marshall, Hassan, Hawley, Hickenlooper, and Banks.
02:44Again, Mr. Chairman, I'm very grateful for your including this on the mark-up agenda,
02:51and I'm delighted that we're going to report the bill today. Thank you.
02:57Mr. Chairman?
