# 119-hr-4981: Stamp Out Lyme Disease Act

119-hr-4981, Stamp Out Lyme Disease Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Gottheimer, Josh [D-NJ-5] (D-NJ); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-22).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4981
- As of: 2026-10-22
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-4981
- Congress: 119
- Title: Stamp Out Lyme Disease Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-08-15
- Sponsor: Rep. Gottheimer, Josh [D-NJ-5] (D-NJ)
- Cosponsors: 13
- Policy area: Health
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-10-22

## Summary

**Creates a Lyme Disease Research semipostal stamp to raise dedicated funds for Lyme and related tick-borne illness research at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.** The bill cites CDC estimates of about 476,000 diagnosed and treated cases each year and Johns Hopkins' estimate that Lyme disease costs the U.S. healthcare system up to $1.3 billion annually. It would direct the Postal Service to issue the stamp under existing semipostal law, transfer all stamp proceeds to NIAID at least twice a year, and bar using those proceeds to offset NIAID appropriations. The stamp would be available to the public for at least six years and issued no later than 12 months after enactment.

## Cosponsors (13)

- Rep. Bacon, Don [R-NE-2] (R-NE), 2025-08-15T00:00:00.000Z
- Del. Norton, Eleanor Holmes [D-DC-At Large] (D-DC), 2025-08-19T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Fitzpatrick, Brian K. [R-PA-1] (R-PA), 2025-08-19T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Lawler, Michael [R-NY-17] (R-NY), 2025-09-16T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Ryan, Patrick [D-NY-18] (D-NY), 2025-09-16T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Bresnahan, Robert P. [R-PA-8] (R-PA), 2025-09-30T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Carson, André [D-IN-7] (D-IN), 2025-09-30T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Mannion, John W. [D-NY-22] (D-NY), 2026-01-08T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Magaziner, Seth [D-RI-2] (D-RI), 2026-02-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Subramanyam, Suhas [D-VA-10] (D-VA), 2026-02-24T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Lee, Summer L. [D-PA-12] (D-PA), 2026-04-09T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Keating, William R. [D-MA-9] (D-MA), 2026-05-12T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Mackenzie, Ryan [R-PA-7] (R-PA), 2026-08-24T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Buy a stamp to fund Lyme research: benefit, low. This bill would direct USPS to sell a special stamp for Lyme and other tick-borne disease research at NIAID. You could buy this voluntary stamp once it is available, no later than 12 months after enactment. The stamp would stay on sale for at least six years from when sales start. Money from stamp…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-9877: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026
- 119-hr-842: Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage Act
- 119-hr-2550: Protect America's Workforce Act
- 119-hr-2102: Major Richard Star Act
- 119-hr-2048: Metastatic Breast Cancer Access to Care Act
- 119-hr-1993: 25th Anniversary of 9/11 Commemorative Coin Act

## Sources
- [119-hr-4981 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/4981)

## Related
- [119-hr-9877: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9877)
- [119-hr-842: Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage A…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-842)
- [119-hr-2550: Protect America's Workforce Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2550)
- [119-hr-2102: Major Richard Star Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2102)
- [119-hr-2048: Metastatic Breast Cancer Access to Care Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2048)
- [119-hr-1993: 25th Anniversary of 9/11 Commemorative Coin Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1993)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4981 (as of 2026-10-22).