Author: The Autism Society of North Carolina
From various email reports and news releases.
This morning the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Combating Autism Act (S. 843). The bill authorizes nearly 1 billion dollars over the next five years to combat autism through research, screening, early detection and early intervention.
The new legislation will increase federal spending on autism by at least 50 percent. It includes provisions relating to the diagnosis and treatment of persons with Autism Spectrum Disorders, and expands and intensifies biomedical research on autism, including an essential focus on possible environmental causes. Further, the legislation includes a renewed investment to track the incidence and prevalence of autism spectrum disorder; to increase public awareness of early identification; promote the use of evidence-based interventions for those at higher risk for autism; and establish state-level clearinghouses for information on autism. For the first time, this legislation also calls for culturally competent information on autism.
The Senate bill was sponsored by Senators Rick Santorum (R-PA) and Christopher Dodd (D-CT). The House version was brought to the House floor by Congressman Joe Barton (R-TX), Chair of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. A companion bill was originally introduced in the House of Representatives by Congresswomen Mary Bono (R-CA) and Diana DeGette (D-CO). The bill has the support of all major autism advocacy groups.
The bill was originally passed in the Senate in August 2006. The House version differs slightly from the Senate version, directing funds for research to the Secretary of Health and Human Services, rather than directly to the National Institutes of Health. Senate passage of the revised bill is expected swiftly.
?ASA applauds Chairman Joe Barton, Speaker Dennis Hastert, Majority Leader John Boehner, and our countless supporters in the House of Representatives for their work on the Combating Autism Act,? said Lee Grossman, ASA President and CEO. ?We welcome the federal leadership on this national health crisis, and look forward to working together to effect dramatic change.?
?This bill is a federal declaration of war on the epidemic of autism,? said Jon Shestack, co-founder of Cure Autism Now. ?It creates a congressionally mandated roadmap for a federal assault on autism, including requirements for strategic planning, budget transparency, Congressional oversight, and a substantial role for parents of children with autism in the federal decision-making process.?
?By passing this landmark single-disease legislation, the House has recognized the daily plight of the thousands of families struggling every day with autism, and has once and for all acknowledged autism as a national healthcare crisis,? said Bob Wright, co-founder of Autism Speaks and chairman and CEO of NBC Universal. ?We now must get the bill to the President's desk as soon as possible.?
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