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Congressman Accused of Delaying Autism Legislation"Congressman Barton says the two sides are not far apart and he's confident they'll be able to pass legislation the autismcommunity is happy with by the time this session of congress ends in December."By Jack Fink Reporting cbs11tv.com Dallas.http://cbs11tv.com/topstories/local_story_284232316.htmlA powerful North Texas congressman is being accused of delayinglegislation that could help tens of thousands of families with autisticchildren."It's an outrage" says Tom Damura, an Arlington father whose19-year-old daughter, , has autism.Damura is one of many parents nationwide who accuse republicanCongressman Joe Barton, of Ennis, the powerful chairman of the house energyand commerce committee, of holding up a bill the senate passed that wouldincrease and improve autism research."There's nothing controversial about this bill... it's a public healthbill," Damura said.Autism is a bio-neurological developmental disability that affects thenormal development of the brain. It affects a child's social interaction,communication skills, and other functions.Government statistics show the number of autism cases involving peoplebetween 6 and 22 years of age rose by 805 percent... from 15,580 cases in1992 to 163,773 cases in 2003.For his part, Barton says he supports most of the senate bill."There's certainly no question there's a need for more research intoautism, which I'm very supportive of. We're not anti-autism in the house.Again, I understand the frustration the parents and grandparents have."Barton wants the senate autism bill to be a part of his bill the housepassed to reform the National Institutes of Health. That federal agencyoversees the nation's medical research.Barton says his bill would take the politics out of the process andcreate a common fund where research grants would compete and get money fromall the institutes.According to the congressman his efforts would likely help autism gainmore research funding, but he says, "What I'm not willing to do is create asystem where autism plays by a different set of rules than everyone else."Barton says he's concerned about a provision in the senate bill thatwould create additional centers of excellence for autism research.The congressman believes the National Institutes of Health should do abetter job with the centers they already have. "If they're not doing a goodjob with the 21 they have today, why would eight more make a difference?"Damura worries Barton's bill will end up slashing autism funding. "Thebill is to combat autism, it's not to reform NIH. If he wants to do that hestill has his bill," Damura said.Congressman Barton says the two sides are not far apart and he'sconfident they'll be able to pass legislation the autism community is happywith by the time this session of congress ends in December.Note: to join the political effort to get the CAA passed:http://www.combatautism.org