Autism bill

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Follow the money....JM

Clock Ticking On Autism Legislation: CAA Dying on the Vine

By Elise Young http://tinyurl.com/n2dct

Editor's comment: Chief promoters of the Combating Autism Act,

Senator Rick Santorum and Senator Bill Frisk have had an apparent quiet

change of heart in their support of the legislation, according to political

observers in the autism community. As of yesterday, House Energy and

Commerce Committee Chairman Joe Barton (TX) will not consider the

Senate-passed Combating Autism Act, which lies in his committee, in the

House this session. He remains steadfastly unmoved and unimpressed by over

200 House members and a unanimous Senate. Barton, according to observers, is

acting on orders from the Republican leadership to take the heat for killing

the measure this session.

Congressional leaders Frist and Dodd have tellingly taken no steps to

promote the CAA to their house counterparts -- in effect making the

legislation a congressional leadership " pocket veto " despite the unanimous

Senate approval. Both Senators Frist and Santorum have strong ties to the

pharmaceutical industry, an industry that may feel threatened by the CAA's

research promise to look into the vaccine-autism connection -- and are now

looking for a way to quietly kill the legislation. Constituents in Tennessee

and Pennsylvania may want to contact their respective Senators Frist and

Santorum to inquire into the reasons for their change in support against the

CAA.

The Combating Autism Act is Congress's $1 billion effort to chase down

the cause of the disorder and treat those in its grip.

Onboard are New Jersey's two senators and 11 of its 12 representatives

-- Rep. Garrett, R-Wantage, has not taken a position and the 13th seat

is vacant. It has huge support from the country's most influential autism

groups and advocates.

The legislation passed unanimously in the Senate on Aug. 3. Yet it is

running out of time in the House of Representatives, where sponsors have

mere days to introduce it before Congress goes into recess Oct. 6. The bill

needs a majority of 218 representatives to pass. It has 190, according to a

list compiled by CombatAutism.org, a coalition of advocates.

" We would like to pursue this this year, " said Cohen, chief of

staff for Rep. DeGette, the Colorado Democrat who is a primary

sponsor. " We're hopeful, because the bill has broad bipartisan support both

in the House and the Senate. "

Over five years, the bill aims to direct $643 million for research

through the National Institutes of Health, $210 million for therapy and

other services for autistic youth and adults and $75 million for public

education. It calls for the screening of every child in America, because

therapies for autism work best when started at a young age. It demands that

the director of the National Institutes of Health make autism a priority,

with annual reports to Congress.

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