A long-debated question about the origins of Lyme disease is poised for federal scrutiny after Congress approved an amendment requiring an investigation into whether the U.S. military once weaponized ticks. The provision, authored by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), was included in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026 and now awaits the President’s signature.
Smith’s amendment, now Sec. 1068 of the defense bill, directs the Government Accountability Office to examine Cold War-era biological weapons research and determine whether federal agencies used ticks as delivery mechanisms for pathogens. The review will encompass military, NIH, and USDA projects from 1945 to 1972 involving Spirochaetales and Rickettsiales, two families of bacteria linked to tick-borne illnesses.
Smith, who co-chairs the Congressional Lyme and Tick-Borne Disease Caucus, said the push is rooted in New Jersey’s unusually high infection rates and concerns for both civilians and military personnel stationed at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst. “The hundreds of thousands of New Jerseyans suffering from Lyme disease deserve to know the truth about the origins of their illness,” he said.
The amendment follows two similar efforts Smith advanced in 2019 and 2021, which cleared the House but were blocked in the Senate. His renewed push has drawn attention in part because of claims featured in Kris Newby’s book Bitten, which cites interviews and files from Dr. Willy Burgdorfer, the scientist credited with discovering Lyme disease. Burgdorfer, according to the book, said he and other researchers experimented with pathogen-loaded ticks for potential battlefield use.
Smith said the GAO probe could either confirm or definitively dispel theories about government involvement in the spread of Lyme disease. “If the investigation concludes that our bioweapons program was not involved, we turn the page,” he said. “But we need answers.”
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