Two critical public health reauthorization bills authored by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ)—HR 5160, the Stem Cell Therapeutic and Research Reauthorization Act of 2025, and HR 4348, the Kay Hagan Tick Act—today passed out of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce’s Subcommittee on Health, where they now head to the full committee markup slated for next week.

                “I am grateful to the Subcommittee on Health, especially Chairman Morgan Griffith (R-VA), for advancing these critical, life-enhancing bills to assist the millions of Americans suffering from chronic health conditions,” said Smith.

HR 5160, the Stem Cell Therapeutic and Research Reauthorization Act of 2025

                “HR 5160 will authorize more than $280 million over five years for the C.W. Bill Young Cell Transplantation Program and the National Cord Blood Inventory, ensuring that two collaborative programs can continue providing treatments and therapies derived from ethically-sourced stem cell lines,” stated Smith, the author of the original law (the Stem Cell Therapeutic and Research Act of 2005 – PL 109-129) that created those programs and connected patients with genetically-matched, ethically-gleaned stem cells.

                “Uninterrupted funding and support for these programs will save more lives, as stem cell treatments have been used to treat, and even cure, more than 75 diseases, including leukemia, lymphoma and sickle cell anemia,” Smith continued. “I urge the Committee and House Leadership to quickly advance this much-needed reauthorization, and I look forward to seeing it be signed into law.”

HR 4348, the Kay Hagan Tick Act reauthorization

                Smith’s second reauthorization that passed out of the Health Subcommittee, the Kay Hagan Tick Act (HR 4348), will provide continued funding for Lyme disease research at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

                “Specifically, this bill will allocate $10 million for the CDC’s regional Centers of Excellence, allowing the agency to conduct comprehensive research on tick-borne illnesses, such as Lyme disease, and thoroughly train public health professionals on how to prevent, identify, and treat tick bites, as well as track the pathogens they spread,” said Smith.

                Smith, a longtime leader in the national fight against Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses, also explained that his Kay Hagan Tick Act reauthorization provides $20 million to states in regions where Lyme or other tick-borne disease outbreaks are more likely, enabling such states to work with the federal government to quickly identify, cauterize, and respond to vector-borne disease outbreaks.

                “Lyme and other tick-borne disease infections are exploding in the United States – in 2025 alone, my home state of New Jersey recorded 6,098 cases of vector-borne illnesses, with 5,211 of those solely attributed to Lyme,” stated Smith, who, since 1993, has authored comprehensive amendments and legislation to improve research, federal collaboration, and the lives of those suffering from Lyme disease.

                “Today, the Health Subcommittee recognized the critical threat that Lyme and other tick-borne illnesses pose to our Nation’s health and well-being. The federal government must do more to help the hundreds of thousands of Americans suffering from these debilitating conditions, and this legislation provides the proper vehicle to do so.”

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