Autism Collaboration, Accountability, Research, Education, and Support Act of 2024

Floor Speech

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 7213, the bicameral, bipartisan bill to reauthorize the Autism CARES Act, which is sponsored by my colleague from New Jersey, Chris Smith.

The Autism CARES Act, formerly known as the Combating Autism Act, is the primary source of Federal funding for autism research services, training, and monitoring.

Since 2006, this law has paved the way for incredible scientific developments. Research funded by the law has advanced diagnosis in young children 18 to 24 months of age and has helped identify timely interventions to make a lifetime difference in the care and treatment of individuals with autism spectrum disorder.

Another significant example of the act's success is the Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Other Related Disabilities, or LEND program.

This program has trained nearly 22,000 interdisciplinary health professionals in autism screening and identification benchmarks to improve diagnosis and care.

These programs collectively provide diagnostic services to confirm or rule out autism or developmental disabilities to over 115,000 children.

In my home State of New Jersey, the prevalence of autism remains alarmingly high as the incidence of autism continues to grow nationally.

We are fortunate to have Rutgers University as the home of New Jersey's Autism Center for Excellence, leading the way on several important issues to the New Jersey autism community, including highlighting disparities in getting diagnosed, providing service programs to adults with autism spectrum disorder, and improving the lives of people who are living with this disorder. Progress has been made, but our work is far from over. We must continue supporting children, families, and caregivers throughout their lives.

I am pleased that through our bicameral, bipartisan negotiations, we are able to increase the number of NIH Centers of Excellence from five to seven.

We were also able to come to agreement on requiring more updated reporting for the Department of Health and Human Services on mental health needs among autism patients.

This will help provide better research and support for children transitioning to adulthood with autism and providing a technical assistance center to ensure evidence-based communication tools are available to patients with speech pathology or audiological challenges.

Now, I must say that I am disappointed that the current Speaker's protocol prevents us from providing the robust funding necessary to meet the implementing agency's projections for this law's 5-year reauthorization period. I feel the bicameral, bipartisan compromise before us is a strong product, and I urge my colleagues to support it.

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Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I believe the gentlewoman has some additional speakers. I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Again, I would say we can see this is a very important piece of legislation dealing with autism spectrum disorder, and I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support it.

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