Legislators Good & Bad
UPDATE- September 18, 2014
Who is Supporting the Lyme Community?
Another election day is approaching. For information on the candidates, please click on the links below.
Bill Tilghman is running against incumbent Congressman Andy Harris who is NOT a friend of the Lyme Community.
MORE INFO SOON ON ELECTIONS LISTED BELOW!
GOVERNOR & LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR:
Anthony Brown (D) - Lt. Governor, Ex-State House Majority Whip, Attorney & Iraq War Veteran & Ken Ulman (D) - Howard County Executive, Ex-Howard County Councilman & Attorney
Larry Hogan (R) - Ex-State Cabinet Secretary, Businessman, GOP Activist & '81/'92 US Rep. Nominee & Boyd Rutherford (R) - Ex-USDA Asst. Secretary, Ex-State General Services Secretary & Attorney
Shawn Quinn (Libertarian) - '10 State Del. Nominee & Lorenzo Gaztañaga (Libertarian) - Ex-State Party Chair, Security Guard & Frequent Candidate
STATE COMPTROLLER:
Peter Franchot (D)* - (Campaign Site)
William Campbell (R) - Ex-Asst. US Sec. of Veterans of Affairs, Ex-Coast Guard CFO, Ex-Amtrak CFO & '10 Nominee
ATTORNEY GENERAL:
[ Doug Gansler (D)* - Lost Primary for Governor in 2014. ]
Brian Frosh (D) - State Sen., Ex-State Del. & Attorney
Jeffrey Pritzker (R) - Attorney & '02 Candidate
Leo Dymowski (Libertarian) - Attorney, State Parole Commission Hearing Officer & Army Veteran
GENERAL ASSEMBLY:
U.S. CONGRESS:
District 1: Andy Harris (R)* - (Campaign Site)
Bill Tilghman (D) - Businessman
District 2: C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger (D)* - (Campaign Site)
Dave Banach (R) - USMC Veteran & College Student
Ian Schlakman (Green) - Technology Consultant & Community Activist
District 3: John Sarbanes (D)* - (Campaign Site)
Charles Long (R) - Research Scientist & Chemist
District 4: Donna Edwards (D)* - (Campaign Site)
Nancy Hoyt (R) - IT Consultant & Ex-Healthcare Administrator
Arvin Vohra (Libertarian) - Businessman, Educator, '12 Nominee & '10 State Del. Nominee
District 5: Steny Hoyer (D)* - (House Minority Whip Site) - (Campaign Site)
Chris Chaffee (R) - Home Building Contractor, Community Activist & '10 Candidate
Dennis Fritz (Independent) - Insurance Underwriter
District 6: John Delaney (D)* - (Campaign Site)
Dan Bongino (R) - Ex-Secret Service Agent, Ex-Police Officer & '12 US Sen. Nominee
George Gluck (Green) - IT Consultant, '12 Nominee & '10 County Council Candidate
District 7: Elijah Cummings (D)* - (Campaign Site)
Corrogan Vaughn (R) - Limousine Company Owner & Frequent Candidate
Scott Soffen (Libertarian) - Investment Executive, Community Activist & '12 Nominee
District 8: Chris Van Hollen Jr. (D)* - (Campaign Site)
Dave Wallace (R) - Businessman & '12 Candidate
A.J. Wildman (Write-In) - Businessman & '12 Presidential Candidate
STATE POLITICAL PARTIES:
Constitution Party of Maryland
U.S. SENATOR:
Barbara Mikulski- Next Election in 2016.
Ben Cardin- Next Election in 2018.
***
OCTOBER 2013
Who Is Supporting the Lyme Community?
Many Lyme patients have been unable to purchase health (or life) insurance due to Lyme being a "preexisting condition" and/or the fact having Lyme disease contributed to the loss of a job, home, financial stability, etc. Many have had little to no access to health care and many have suffered as a result. We know several patients recently who have been able to purchase insurance through the exchanges offered through the ACA Health Care Act (ObamaCare), and more who have been able to receive both health care and drug coverage through Medicaid due to the increased income limits provided for by the Act.
As some of you may remember, we've had major problems due to Congressional Representative Andy Harris's (Johns Hopkin's doctor) direct interference (that's putting it mildly) with Maryland STATE Lyme bills we've supported in the past. As a past member of the Maryland Legislator (Senator) he gutted and rewrote 3 of those Lyme bills, totally changing their good intentions to the point we all had to try to kill the revised bill at the last minute to prevent it from causing Lyme patients harm (2005- SB 596- https://sites.google.com/site/lymelegislation/2005-sb-596 ).
Having recently written to legislators to support re-opening the government ASAP, we received this email response below from now Congressman Harris stating he is against the Affordable Care Act, voted against reopening the government and voted against repaying those who had been furloughed.
On the other hand, Senator Barbara Mikulski and Senator Ben Cardin, along with all other Maryland Congressional legislators (who have all supported our Lyme efforts over the years), also support the Affordable Care Act and fought to have the government reopened. Senators Mikulski and Cardin sponsored a bill (passed) to be sure those who were furloughed received retroactive salaries.
No matter what your political views are, this is something we thought you might want to know as a Lyme patient or caregiver.
Begin forwarded message:
From: "Representative Andy Harris" <MD01AHima@mail.house.gov>
Date: October 24, 2013 2:45:17 PM EDT
To: <afterthebite@gmail.com>
Subject: Responding to your message
October 24, 2013
Dear Ms. Barnes,
Thank you for contacting me and sharing your thoughts about funding the federal government and raising the debt ceiling. As always, I appreciate you sharing your thoughts with me regarding these very important issues.
On October 16, 2013, the House and Senate passed a bill to fund the federal government through January 15 and extend the debt ceiling until February 7. The bill also included provisions to back-pay our furloughed federal employees, which has been provided after each of the previous 13 partial "shut downs." However, the bill failed to address key issues in a meaningful way.
I voted against this bill because I could not support a package that does nothing to reduce the $650 billion deficit this year or deficits in future years, continues special treatment for members of Congress by providing Obamacare subsidies, and continues accounting gimmicks. I voted three times to fully fund and over a dozen times to partially fund the government past October 1st. This partial government "shut down" occurred because the Senate and President insisted on special treatment for large corporations and for themselves and their staff. The President previously delayed an Obamacare tax on employers - but failed to delay the tax for individuals, and Members of Congress will receive a subsidy for their health care that is prohibited for anyone else under Obamacare. Unfortunately, the Senate bill addressed neither issue, and just kicks the can further down the road.
Recently, President Obama said we have to stop governing from crisis to crisis. I agree, but I also believe that to accomplish that goal ALL parties must come together, negotiate, and commit to debt reduction. These crises occur because our debt problems are serious and the solutions are difficult. In the days ahead, we can and should work together to get our nation's fiscal house in order. I look forward to the conversation and to working on long-term solutions rather than short-term delays to the many issues facing our nation.
As the 113th Congress addresses the many challenges facing our nation, I hope you will continue to share your suggestions. For the fastest and most cost-effective response, please contact me via email. To keep up with my work in Congress, visit my website at harris.house.gov and sign up to receive updates at harris.house.gov/contact-me/newsletter.
Sincerely,
Andy Harris M.D.
Member of Congress
October 23, 2013
FROM SENATOR BEN CARDIN
Dear Ms. Barnes:
Thank you for writing to me about the just concluded shutdown of the federal government. I share your concerns about the harm the shutdown inflicted upon our nation. It cost us billions of dollars and has severely shaken consumer confidence.
All states are feeling an impact, but those of us in Maryland have been hurt even harder than most. Approximately 300,000 of the 800,000 furloughed workers were from the National Capital Region. Contractors, small businesses and others who depend on federal employees as customers or support federal agencies were irreparably harmed, too.
This shutdown never should have happened. There were missteps on all sides, but in the end, a small group of lawmakers in the House were so obsessed with taking away health benefits from American families that they were willing to hold our economy hostage to do it. Whether you agree or disagree with their policy, because of their delay tactics, major job-creating projects, like the construction of Harbor Point in Baltimore, were put in jeopardy. Businesses large and small were caught waiting for licensing permits and government inspections.
Now that the government has been reopened, we expect to finally sit down and negotiate a long-term, balanced solution to our budget. Now that the threat of default has been lifted, at least temporarily, we also can get to the business of paying our bills. Our next step is to get back to the job of investing in our economy and growing jobs throughout our nation.
Once again, thank you for contacting me about this important issue. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me on this, or any other matter of concern to you.
***
2011- 2012 Session Federal Bills
For more information concerning the Federal Bills
Please click here.
***
Maryland Lyme-Related Legislation Summary & History
All Maryland Lyme-related bills were written and submitted by Maryland legislators over the years. They were not initiated by members of the Lyme Disease Education and Support Groups of Maryland. Our support groups were occasionally contacted by legislators and we were asked to support the introduced bills, which, when appropriate, we did in good faith.
Although patients across the state responded with overwhelming support for bills when the language was appropriate, all bills introduced were eventually negatively influenced by input from Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) supporters and members, Johns Hopkins affiliated health care professionals or the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. As a result, all bills attempting to make the situation better for Lyme patients and the health care professionals had to be killed at the last minute to prevent the situation from becoming worse.
Without the support and assistance of Maryland patients and state-wide support groups and the overwhelming response from independent support groups and patients across the nation we would have been saddled with laws that would be detrimental to all. The Lyme Disease Association (LDA) and its affiliates were essential in making the legislative situation here acceptable and in helping us achieve a reasonable outcome. A special thanks to all Lyme patients and groups for their quick responses to our calls for action and their much appreciated support!
Although we have some very wonderful legislators and staff members in Annapolis who care about us and who want to help, the climate in our state (home to the official spokesman for IDSA (Auwaerter), IDSA Guidelines authors (Dumler) and the IDSA Guidelines reviewer/editor (Auwaerter)- all from Johns Hopkins) has proven repeatedly to not be advantageous for attempting a Lyme-related bill.
History
1999- SB 420 & HB 311
Sponsors- Delegates McClenahan, W. Baker, Walkup, Conway, Rudolph, Eckardt,
Cane, Bozman, Schisler, Guns, Edwards, Shank, K. Kelly, McKee,
Hutchins, and Wood
Title- Workers’ Compensation - Department of Natural Resources
The bill, unfortunately, passed in both House and Senate. The State of Maryland- specifically the Department of Natural Resources and the Injured Workers Insurance Fund (IWIF)- made it mandatory for outdoor employees to receive the LymeRix vaccine(s) if they were to be covered by Workers' Compensation after being bitten by a tick and becoming ill. Without the vaccine, employees would not covered by w.c. insurance and would not be compensated for loss of work, medical appointments, medications, or any injuries or illness acquired after a receiving a tick bite. Vaccines are made mandatory in this fashion not as a helpful prevention tool in many cases, but to produce or boost revenues for those with vested interests.
In a few short years the unsuccessful LymeRix vaccine generated over 2,200 adverse event reports to the government ( http://www.medalerts.org/ ), claiming that mild to severe injuries and deaths occurred after receiving the vaccine. It was pulled from the market after several lawsuits were filed on behalf of injured patients. Johns Hopkins doctors promoted the vaccine, calling it effective and safe, even for children, yet children and adults died after receiving the vaccine. http://www.medalerts.org/vaersdb/findfield.php
"Clinical trials of LYMErix at the Johns HopkinsSchool of Public Health indicate the vaccine is safe and effective for children aged 4 to 14." http://tiny.cc/uifr2
http://www.medalerts.org/vaersdb/findfield.php
SEE REPEAL OF HB 311 & SB 420 BELOW (HB 765 in 2006).
2005- SB 596
Sponsors- Senators Colburn, Dyson, Jacobs, and Stoltzfus
Title- Licensed Physicians - Treatment of Lyme Disease - Discipline - Insurance Coverage
In the Senate Health Committee, the bill was combined with HB 1323, was totally gutted by Senator Harris, Senator Hollinger and the Senate Health Committee members with influence from Johns Hopkins, Maryland DHMH and the IDSA. The combined bill was rewritten into an unusable and potentially dangerous form for patients and their treating physicians. The final unacceptable version had to be killed at the last minute. Senator Colburn, the original sponsor of one of the Lyme bills would not explain to patients why this was done.
http://mlis.state.md.us/2005rs/bills/sb/sb0596f.pdf
2005- HB 1323
Sponsor- Delegate Conway, et al.
Title- Task Force to Study Lyme Disease
Delegate Conway graciously worked with patients and volunteer advocates on a bill that passed unanimously in the House, but was combined with SB 596, then gutted by the Senate health Committee (Hopkins/Maryland DHMH/IDSA) and rewritten into an unusable and potentially dangerous form. The bill had to be killed at the last minute. See note above.
http://mlis.state.md.us/2005rs/fnotes/bil_0003/hb1323.pdf
2006- HB 765
Sponsor- Senator Colburn
Title- Workers' Compensation - Presumptions - Lyme Disease
This bill repeals the requirement that a Department of Natural Resources (DNR)
employee must receive any vaccination for Lyme disease required or made available to
the employee by DNR to be eligible for the Lyme disease presumption for workers’
compensation coverage. The bill was repealed after more than 2,000 adverse event reports were filed claiming those who received the unsuccessful vaccine were injured, disabled or died.
PASSED- http://mlis.state.md.us/2006rs/fnotes/bil_0005/sb0765.pdf
2007- HB 836
Sponsor- Delegate Karen Montgomery
Title- Public Health- Lyme Disease - Public Awareness.
The problems with the bill- as one legislator referred to as a bill with "no teeth"- was in its language, which mandated the distribution of materials by the Maryland DHMH to health care providers about Lyme disease, “including the latest consensus guidelines for diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease". (IDSA Guidelines) (A2 (IV) lines 22, 23). An amendment was prepared and patients supported the bill with the amendment. At the last minute the sponsor (Karen Montgomery), with the Maryland DHMH by her side in a meeting behind closed doors, flip flopped on her promise to promote and add the amendment that she helped write and agreed to support. Without the agreed upon amendment the bill had to be killed to protect patients from losing their right to obtain adequate treatment.
http://mlis.state.md.us/2007RS/billfile/HB0836.htm
Additional bills related to Lyme disease:
2009- HB 1443
Sponsor- DelegateHubbard
Title- Workers' Compensation - Law Enforcement Officers - Lyme Disease Presumption
http://mlis.state.md.us/2009rs/fnotes/bil_0003/hb1443.pdf
Unfavorable- Economic Matters
Similar cross filed bills, SB 743 and HB 855, were introduced in 2008. SB 743 received an unfavorable report from the Senate Finance Committee. HB 855 received a hearing in the House Economic Matters Committee, but was withdrawn before further action was taken.
2010- HB 290, HB 798, HB 2- Go to the...
Lyme Legislation Website
For Maryland State and Federal Bill Information
https://sites.google.com/site/lymelegislation/home
We appreciate all constructive input and opinions from the Lyme community.
Thank you for your support!