RELEASE: Gottheimer Hosts Lyme Disease Roundtable

Resources / Press Share on RELEASE: Gottheimer Hosts Lyme Disease Roundtable Jul 30, 2026 Press Presses for Passage of Key Bipartisan Legislation Increased Funding for Public Education, Awareness, Research, Funding Congressman Hears Directly from North Jersey Experts, Patients, and Community Leaders New Jersey Ranks Fourth in the Nation for Lyme Disease Cases Above: Gottheimer hosts roundtable on tackling Lyme disease. HAWORTH, NJ — Today, July 30, 2026, U.S. Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5) hosted a Lyme disease roundtable at the Haworth Library, sitting down with local officials, medical experts, and advocates to confront the growing threat of Lyme and other tick-borne illnesses facing families across New Jersey. Watch full remarks here . “There is nothing partisan about a tick bite. This isn’t a Democratic issue or a Republican issue — it’s a Jersey families issue,” said Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5) . “Whether you’re hiking the Appalachian Trail, playing in your backyard, or just walking the dog around the block, you deserve to do that without worrying about a disease that can follow you for years.” “Vector-borne diseases, including Lyme disease, have real impacts on public health in all of our communities. It is so important that we continue to support sustained efforts to keep the public informed of their risk of contracting these diseases, and to further our understanding of these infections — the ways in which they cause the disorders they do, and how best to diagnose and treat them,” said Dr. John Halperin of Atlantic Health . Lyme disease is the most common disease transmitted from animals to humans in the country, with an estimated 476,000 cases nationally every year, and New Jersey ranks fourth in the nation for reported Lyme disease cases. In 2026 alone, the state has already reported more than 4,000 tick-borne disease cases — over 3,500 of them Lyme disease — according to the New Jersey Department of Health. Since 2010, New Jersey has averaged nearly 4,800 Lyme cases per year. Bergen, Passaic, and Sussex Counties alone have averaged nearly 800 combined cases annually. Roundtable participants raised the urgent need for greater public awareness, the difficulty of getting an accurate diagnosis, the prevalence of false negatives, and the need for better physician education on Lyme and related tick-borne illnesses such as anaplasmosis, babesiosis, and alpha-gal syndrome. Participants also highlighted the long-term physical, cognitive, and mental health impacts on children whose Lyme disease goes undiagnosed for too long. Gottheimer outlined priorities he is advancing in Washington to address these concerns: Passing the Kay Hagan Tick Act. Last week, a bill Gottheimer championed, the Kay Hagan Tick Act, which passed the House overwhelmingly, establishes the federal government’s national strategy on Lyme disease for the next five years and includes funding for research, surveillance, physician education, and public awareness all across the country. Gottheimer is now pressing the Senate to pass the bipartisan measure and get it signed into law. Securing federal funding. Gottheimer’s appropriations requests this year sought for Lyme and tick-borne disease funding for NIH research through the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, or NIAID; CDC prevention and education; and the Department of Defense’s Tick-Borne Disease Research Program. He secured $5 million for the LymeX Innovation Accelerator, a public-private partnership accelerating the development of new Lyme disease diagnostics and treatments. He is fighting back against the administration’s proposal to reorganize the CDC’s dedicated Lyme Disease Program and consolidate it into the broader Vector-Borne Disease Program and cut funding by $3.8 million. Advancing new legislation. Gottheimer is continuing to push forward his federal legislation to combat Lyme and tick-borne illnesses: the Tick Identification Pilot Program Act, co-led with Congressman Tom Kean (NJ-7), which would let residents submit a photo of a tick and get expert identification and guidance within 72 hours; the Stamp Out Lyme Disease Act, with Congressman Don Bacon (NE-2), which would direct the Postal Service to issue a Lyme disease research stamp funding NIAID research; and the BITE (Battling Infections Transmitted by Ticks and Exposure) Act, co-led with Congressman Tom Kean (NJ-7), which would build the first fully integrated national vector-borne disease prevention and alert system, with the goal of cutting Lyme disease cases 25 percent by 2035. Gottheimer also urged residents to take precautions this summer: using repellents, wearing proper clothing, checking themselves and their pets for ticks, and watching for a red bullseye rash, especially after spending time in wooded or grassy areas, and following up with a doctor if a rash or fever develops in the weeks after a possible bite. Gottheimer was joined by Haworth Councilwoman Alanna Davis; Matt Bickert