09/30/2026
Thank you to all the members of Lyme WNY who took the time to send messages and write letters to your representatives in the House and the Senate. Your efforts have paid off! The Kay Hagan Tick Reauthorization Act was officially signed into law today securing $150 million in funding over 5 years for research, prevention, and response to Lyme and tick-borne disease 💚
Most of all thank you Mike Koch you have fought for this and used your voice for years to get here!!!!!! NEVER BACKED DOWN!
SIGNED INTO LAW! Today, September 30, 2026, the President signed S. 2398, the Kay Hagan Tick Reauthorization Act, into law - a major victory for the Lyme and tickborne disease community!
“Today marks an extraordinary moment for the Lyme and tickborne disease community and a powerful demonstration of what bipartisan advocacy can accomplish,” said Meghan Bradshaw, MPH, Executive Director of Center for Lyme Action. “The signing of the Kay Hagan Tick Reauthorization Act is the result of years of work by patients, families, researchers, public health professionals, advocates, and bipartisan champions in Congress who refused to let tickborne diseases fall off the national agenda. We are incredibly proud of the thousands of advocates across the country who raised their voices and made this victory possible.”
To our advocates: thank you for your tireless support, persistence, and dedication. Every meeting, email, phone call, and personal story helped bring us to this moment. We are deeply grateful to the patients, families, researchers, public health professionals, and bipartisan congressional champions who made this victory possible.
“Today we celebrate, but tomorrow we get back to work,” Bradshaw said. “Reauthorization gives us an important foundation. Now we must make sure the federal government follows through with the resources, implementation, and continued innovation necessary to change the trajectory of these diseases. This is a landmark victory—and it is just the beginning.”
Together, we’ll keep working to strengthen federal investments in research, prevention, diagnostics, treatments, and public health so patients and families have a stronger path toward answers and better outcomes.
