Background Information on the Combating Autism Act

• The Combating Autism Act (S.843) was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on Dec. 6, 2006, and by the U.S. Senate on Dec. 7, 2006. It is considered by some to be the most comprehensive piece of single-disease legislation ever passed by the United States Congress.
  
• The Combating Autism Act (CAA) 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.
  
• The CAA authorized appropriations of $924 million over five fiscal years, increasing federal spending on autism by at least 50 percent.
  
• The CAA creates a congressionally mandated roadmap for a federal war against 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.
  
• The CAA authorizes $645 million over five years to the National Institute of Health to expand, intensify and coordinate activities on autism, instructing it to conduct basic and clinical research into the causes of and treatments for autism, including potential environmental causes. This amounts to an increase of at least 50 percent of current federal spending on autism research.
  
• The CAA authorizes $69 million over five years to the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for autism epidemiology and awareness activities.
  
• The CAA authorizes $210 million to the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) for improvements in autism education, early detection and early intervention. In order to receive federal assistance to conduct these programs, the governor of each state must designate a lead agency for autism activities and to use public outreach tools including toll-free telephone numbers, the Internet and targeted mailings.
  
• The CAA restructures the InterAgency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC), charging the new IACC with developing a strategic plan for the conduct of autism research and reporting annually to Congress. The IACC shall include not less than 1/3 public members (at least two of which shall be personally affected by autism, including one person diagnosed with autism and one parent of a person diagnosed with autism).
  
• The Senate bill (S.843) 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. The House bill was originally introduced by Congresswomen Mary Bono (R-CA) and Diana DeGette (D-CO). The bill had the support of all major autism advocacy groups.
  
• S.843 first passed the Senate by unanimous consent in August 2006. Senate action on the revised House version followed on Dec. 7, 2006.