During their full committee markup today, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce unanimously approved two critical public health reauthorization bills authored by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ)—HR 4348, the Kay Hagan Tick Act, and HR 5160, the Stem Cell Therapeutic and Research Reauthorization Act of 2025—which will now head to the House floor for a vote.

                “Now that these critical, life-enhancing bills have passed out of the Energy & Commerce Committee, we are one step closer to getting them across the finish line and onto President Trump’s desk for his signature,” said Smith. “These two bills will tremendously improve the quality of life of the millions of Americans suffering from serious, chronic, and life-threatening health conditions.”

HR 4348, the Kay Hagan Tick Act reauthorization

                Smith’s first reauthorization bill that advanced out of the Energy & Commerce Committee, the Kay Hagan Tick Act (HR 4348), will provide $27 million in continued funding for Lyme disease research at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

                Specifically, the bill—which unanimously passed out of the Committee by a margin of 48-0—will allocate funding for the CDC’s regional Centers of Excellence, which conduct comprehensive research on vector-borne illnesses, such as Lyme disease, and train public health entomologists on how to prevent, identify, treat, and track tick bites.

                HR 4348 will also provide funding for states in regions that have an elevated risk of Lyme or other tick-borne disease outbreaks, which will enable them to work in tandem with the federal government to quickly identify and address such 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.

                “Lyme and other tick-borne illnesses pose critical threats to our Nation’s health and well-being, and we must do more to help the hundreds of thousands of Americans suffering from these debilitating conditions. I urge House leadership to bring this legislation to the floor imminently—Lyme patients cannot wait any longer.”

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

                Smith’s second reauthorization bill, the Stem Cell Therapeutic and Research Reauthorization Act of 2025 (HR 5160), passed the Committee by a margin of 46-0 and 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.

                Smith is 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.

                “Stem cell treatments have been used to treat, and even cure, more than 75 diseases, ranging from leukemia to sickle cell anemia—uninterrupted funding and support for these programs will improve and save thousands of more lives,” said Smith. “I am grateful to the Energy & Commerce Committee, especially and including Chairman Brett Guthrie (R-KY), for recognizing the importance of this time-sensitive and much-needed reauthorization.”

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