109TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 843

AN ACT

To amend the Public Health Service Act to combat autism

through research, screening, intervention and education.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Combating Autism Act

5 of 2006’’.
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1 SEC. 2. ACTIVITIES TO IMPROVE AUTISM-RELATED RE2 SEARCH.

3 Section 409C of the Public Health Service Act (42

4 U.S.C. 284g) is amended to read as follows:

5 ‘‘SEC. 409C. AUTHORITY OF THE DIRECTOR OF THE NA6 TIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH RELATING

7 TO AUTISM.

8 ‘‘(a) STRATEGIC PLAN FOR AUTISM RESEARCH.—

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting

10 through the Director, shall develop and implement a

11 strategic plan for the conduct and support of re12 search related to autism spectrum disorder.

13 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The strategic plan de14 veloped under paragraph (1)—

15 ‘‘(A) shall—

16 ‘‘(i) be updated annually;

17 ‘‘(ii) take into account the research

18 recommendations of the Interagency Au19 tism Coordinating Committee under sec20 tion 399CC; and

21 ‘‘(iii) using professional judgment,

22 outline the proposed budgetary require23 ments of the strategic plan, including spe24 cific funding expectations for continued

25 multi-year program activities, as well as

26 new and complementary program activities,
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1 subject to the availability of appropria2 tions; and

3 ‘‘(B) may include investigator-initiated re4 search.

5 ‘‘(3) REPORT.—Not later than April 1, 2008,

6 and annually thereafter, the Secretary, acting

7 through the Director, shall prepare and submit to

8 the appropriate committees of Congress a report

9 that contains—

10 ‘‘(A) the strategic plan under paragraph

11 (1) that will be applicable to the upcoming fis12 cal year; and

13 ‘‘(B) a description of the actual dollar ex14 penditures for autism spectrum disorder during

15 the previous fiscal year.

16 ‘‘(b) EXPANSION, INTENSIFICATION, AND COORDINA17 TION OF ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary, acting through the

18 Director, shall, subject to the availability of appropria19 tions, expand, intensify, and coordinate the activities of

20 the National Institutes of Health with respect to autism

21 spectrum disorder.

22 ‘‘(c) CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE.—

23 ‘‘(1) AUTISM CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE.—

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting

25 through the Director, shall, subject to the avail-
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1 ability of appropriations, award grants or con2 tracts to public or nonprofit private entities to

3 assist such entities in paying all or part of the

4 costs of planning, establishing, improving, and

5 providing basic operating support for centers of

6 excellence concerning research on autism spec7 trum disorder.

8 ‘‘(B) RESEARCH ACTIVITIES.—A center of

9 excellence that receives funding under this

10 paragraph shall conduct basic and clinical re11 search into autism spectrum disorder. Such re12 search shall—

13 ‘‘(i) be conducted in the fields of de14 velopmental neurobiology, genetics,

15 epigenetics, pharmacology, nutrition, im16 munology, neuroimmunology,

17 neurobehavioral development, endocri18 nology, gastroenterology,

19 psychopharmacology, or toxicology; and

20 ‘‘(ii) include investigations into the

21 causation, diagnosis or rule out, early de22 tection, prevention, services, supports, or

23 intervention of autism spectrum disorder.

24 ‘‘(C) SERVICES.—
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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A center of excel2 lence that receives funding under this

3 paragraph may expend amounts provided

4 under a grant or contract under such para5 graph to carry out a program to make in6 dividuals aware of opportunities to partici7 pate as subjects in research conducted by

8 the center.

9 ‘‘(ii) REFERRALS AND COSTS.—A pro10 gram carried out under clause (i) may, in

11 accordance with such criteria as the Direc12 tor may establish, provide to the subjects

13 described in such clause, referrals for

14 health and other services and reimburse15 ment of care for individuals as are re16 quired for such research.

17 ‘‘(iii) AVAILABILITY AND ACCESS.—

18 The extent to which a center of excellence

19 that receives funding under this paragraph

20 can demonstrate the availability of and ac21 cess to clinical services shall be considered

22 by the Director in making decisions con23 cerning the awarding of grants or con24 tracts to applicants that meet the scientific

25 criteria for funding under this section.
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1 ‘‘(D) COORDINATION OF CENTERS OF EX2 CELLENCE.—The Director shall provide for the

3 appropriate coordination of information among

4 centers of excellence that receive funding under

5 this paragraph and ensure regular communica6 tion between such centers.

7 ‘‘(E) ORGANIZATION.—A center of excel8 lence that receives funding under this para9 graph shall use the facilities of a single institu10 tion, or be formed through a consortium of co11 operating institutions, that meets such require12 ments as may be required by the Director.

13 ‘‘(F) DURATION.—The term of a grant or

14 contract awarded under this paragraph shall

15 not exceed a period of 5 years. Such period may

16 be extended for 1 or more additional periods

17 not exceeding 5 years if the operations of the

18 center of excellence involved have been reviewed

19 by an appropriate technical and scientific peer

20 review group established by the Director and

21 the group has recommended to the Director the

22 extension of such period.

23 ‘‘(G) GEOGRAPHIC DIVERSITY.—The Di24 rector shall consider geographic diversity in

25 awarding centers of excellence.
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1 ‘‘(2) CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE IN ENVIRON2 MENTAL HEALTH AND AUTISM.—

3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall,

4 subject to the availability of appropriations,

5 award grants or contracts to public or nonprofit

6 private entities to pay all or part of the cost of

7 planning, establishing, improving, and providing

8 basic operating support for centers of excellence

9 regarding environmental health and autism

10 spectrum disorder.

11 ‘‘(B) RESEARCH.—A center of excellence

12 established under this paragraph shall conduct

13 basic and clinical research of a broad array of

14 environmental factors that may have a possible

15 role in autism spectrum disorder.

16 ‘‘(C) COORDINATION AND ORGANIZA17 TION.—The Secretary, acting through the Di18 rector of NIH, shall apply to the centers under

19 this paragraph the same requirements con20 cerning coordination, reporting, and organiza21 tion as the requirements applied to the centers

22 of excellence under subparagraphs (D), (E),

23 (F), and (G) of paragraph (1).

24 ‘‘(d) COLLECTION AND STORAGE OF DATA.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting

2 through the Director and in coordination with the

3 Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Pre4 vention, shall, subject to the availability of appro5 priations, establish and provide funding for mecha6 nisms and entities that provide for the collection,

7 storage, coordination, and public availability of data

8 that is collected by the centers of excellence under

9 this section, under section 399AA(b), and under sec10 tion 409C(c) and, to the extent possible, data gen11 erated from public and private research partner12 ships. In establishing such mechanisms and entities,

13 the Secretary—

14 ‘‘(A) shall ensure that there is data shar15 ing among autism spectrum disorder research16 ers; and

17 ‘‘(B) may utilize existing facilities.

18 ‘‘(2) FACILITATION OF RESEARCH.—

19 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—The

20 Secretary shall establish a program under

21 which samples of tissues and genetic and other

22 biological materials that are of use in research

23 on autism spectrum disorder are donated, col24 lected, preserved, and made available for such

25 research.
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1 ‘‘(B) ACCEPTED SCIENTIFIC STAND2 ARDS.—The program established under para3 graph (1) shall be—

4 ‘‘(i) carried out in accordance with ac5 cepted scientific and medical standards for

6 the donation, collection, and preservation

7 of such samples; and

8 ‘‘(ii) conducted so that the tissues and

9 other materials saved, as well as any data10 base compiled from such tissues and mate11 rials, are available to researchers at a rea12 sonable cost and on an expedited basis.

13 ‘‘(e) CONSOLIDATION.—The Secretary, acting

14 through the Director, may consolidate program activities

15 under this section if such consolidation would improve pro16 gram efficiencies and outcomes.

17 ‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be

19 appropriated—

20 ‘‘(A) $68,000,000 for fiscal year 2007,

21 $74,500,000 for fiscal year 2008, $81,000,000

22 for fiscal year 2009, $87,500,000, for fiscal

23 year 2010, and $94,000,000 for fiscal year

24 2011, to carry out subsections (a), (b), and (d);
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1 ‘‘(B) $24,000,000 for fiscal year 2007,

2 $30,500,000 for fiscal year 2008, $37,000,000

3 for fiscal year 2009, $43,500,000 for fiscal year

4 2010, and $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2011, to

5 carry out subsection (c)(1); and

6 ‘‘(C) $6,000,000 for fiscal year 2007,

7 $7,500,000 for fiscal year 2008, $9,000,000 for

8 fiscal year 2009, $10,500,000 for fiscal year

9 2010, and $12,000,000 for fiscal year 2011, to

10 carry out subsection (c)(2).

11 ‘‘(2) GENERAL USAGE.—Of the amounts appro12 priated under subparagraphs (B) and (C) of para13 graph (1), not to exceed 5 percent of such amounts

14 may be utilized by the National Institutes of Health

15 for administrative and other expenses.

16 ‘‘(g) SUNSET.—This section shall not apply after

17 September 30, 2011.’’.

18 SEC. 3. DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES SURVEILLANCE

19 AND RESEARCH PROGRAM.

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title III of the Public Health

21 Service Act (42 U.S.C. 241 et seq.) is amended by adding

22 at the end the following:
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1 ‘‘PART R—PROGRAMS RELATING TO AUTISM

2 ‘‘SEC. 399AA. DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES SURVEIL3 LANCE AND RESEARCH PROGRAM.

4 ‘‘(a) AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER AND OTHER DE5 VELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES.—

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting

7 through the Director of the Centers for Disease

8 Control and Prevention, may award grants or coop9 erative agreements to eligible entities for the collec10 tion, analysis, and reporting of State epidemiological

11 data on autism spectrum disorder and other develop12 mental disabilities. An eligible entity shall assist

13 with the development and coordination of State au14 tism spectrum disorder and other developmental dis15 ability surveillance efforts within a region. In mak16 ing such awards, the Secretary may provide direct

17 technical assistance in lieu of cash.

18 ‘‘(2) DATA STANDARDS.—In submitting epide19 miological data to the Secretary pursuant to sub20 section (a), an eligible entity shall report data ac21 cording to guidelines prescribed by the Director of

22 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,

23 after consultation with relevant State and local pub24 lic health officials, private sector developmental dis25 ability researchers, and advocates for individuals
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1 with autism spectrum disorder or other develop2 mental disabilities.

3 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive an

4 award under paragraph (1), an entity shall be a

5 public or nonprofit private entity (including a health

6 department of a State or a political subdivision of a

7 State, a university, or any other educational institu8 tion), and submit to the Secretary an application at

9 such time, in such manner, and containing such in10 formation as the Secretary may require.

11 ‘‘(b) CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE IN AUTISM SPEC12 TRUM DISORDER EPIDEMIOLOGY.—

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting

14 through the Director of the Centers for Disease

15 Control and Prevention, shall, subject to the avail16 ability of appropriations, award grants or coopera17 tive agreements for the establishment of regional

18 centers of excellence in autism spectrum disorder

19 and other developmental disabilities epidemiology for

20 the purpose of collecting and analyzing information

21 on the number, incidence, correlates and causes of

22 autism spectrum disorder and other developmental

23 disabilities.

24 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—To be eligible to receive

25 a grant or cooperative agreement under paragraph
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1 (1), an entity shall submit to the Secretary an appli2 cation containing such agreements and information

3 as the Secretary may require, including an agree4 ment that the center to be established under the

5 grant or cooperative agreement shall operate in ac6 cordance with the following:

7 ‘‘(A) The center will collect, analyze, and

8 report autism spectrum disorder and other de9 velopmental disability data according to guide10 lines prescribed by the Director of the Centers

11 for Disease Control and Prevention, after con12 sultation with relevant State and local public

13 health officials, private sector developmental

14 disability researchers, and advocates for individ15 uals with developmental disabilities.

16 ‘‘(B) The center will develop or extend an

17 area of special research expertise (including ge18 netics, epigenetics, epidemiological research re19 lated to environmental exposures), immunology,

20 and other relevant research specialty areas.

21 ‘‘(C) The center will identify eligible cases

22 and controls through its surveillance system

23 and conduct research into factors which may

24 cause or increase the risk of autism spectrum

25 disorder and other developmental disabilities.
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1 ‘‘(c) FEDERAL RESPONSE.—The Secretary shall co2 ordinate the Federal response to requests for assistance

3 from State health, mental health, and education depart4 ment officials regarding potential or alleged autism spec5 trum disorder or developmental disability clusters.

6 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this part:

7 ‘‘(1) OTHER DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES.—

8 The term ‘other developmental disabilities’ has the

9 meaning given the term ‘developmental disability’ in

10 section 102(8) of the Developmental Disabilities As11 sistance and Bill of Rights Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C.

12 15002(8)).

13 ‘‘(2) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means each of

14 the several States, the District of Columbia, the

15 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, American Samoa,

16 Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana

17 Islands, the Virgin Islands, and the Trust Territory

18 of the Pacific Islands.

19 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To

20 carry out this section, there is authorized to be appro21 priated, $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2007, and such sums

22 as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 2008 through

23 2011.

24 ‘‘(f) SUNSET.—This section shall not apply after Sep25 tember 30, 2011.
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1 ‘‘SEC. 399BB. AUTISM EDUCATION, EARLY DETECTION, AND

2 INTERVENTION .

3 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this section—

4 ‘‘(1) to increase awareness, reduce barriers to

5 screening and diagnosis, promote evidence-based

6 interventions for individuals with autism spectrum

7 disorder or other developmental disabilities, and

8 train professionals to utilize valid and reliable

9 screening tools to diagnose or rule out and provide

10 evidence-based interventions for children with autism

11 spectrum disorder and other developmental disabil12 ities; and

13 ‘‘(2) to conduct activities under this section

14 with a focus on an interdisciplinary approach (as de15 fined in programs developed under section 501(a)(2)

16 of the Social Security Act) that will also focus on

17 specific issues for children who are not receiving an

18 early diagnosis and subsequent interventions.

19 ‘‘(b) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall, subject to

20 the availability of appropriations, establish and evaluate

21 activities to—

22 ‘‘(1) provide information and education on au23 tism spectrum disorder and other developmental dis24 abilities to increase public awareness of develop25 mental milestones;
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1 ‘‘(2) promote research into the development and

2 validation of reliable screening tools for autism spec3 trum disorder and other developmental disabilities

4 and disseminate information regarding those screen5 ing tools;

6 ‘‘(3) promote early screening of individuals at

7 higher risk for autism spectrum disorder and other

8 developmental disabilities as early as practicable,

9 given evidence-based screening techniques and inter10 ventions;

11 ‘‘(4) increase the number of individuals who are

12 able to confirm or rule out a diagnosis of autism

13 spectrum disorder and other developmental disabil14 ities;

15 ‘‘(5) increase the number of individuals able to

16 provide evidence-based interventions for individuals

17 diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder or other

18 developmental disabilities; and

19 ‘‘(6) promote the use of evidence-based inter20 ventions for individuals at higher risk for autism

21 spectrum disorder and other developmental disabil22 ities as early as practicable.

23 ‘‘(c) INFORMATION AND EDUCATION.—

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out subsection

25 (b)(1), the Secretary, in collaboration with the Sec-
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1 retary of Education and the Secretary of Agri2 culture, shall, subject to the availability of appro3 priations, provide culturally competent information

4 regarding autism spectrum disorder and other devel5 opmental disabilities, risk factors, characteristics,

6 identification, diagnosis or rule out, and evidence7 based interventions to meet the needs of individuals

8 with autism spectrum disorder or other develop9 mental disabilities and their families through—

10 ‘‘(A) Federal programs, including—

11 ‘‘(i) the Head Start program;

12 ‘‘(ii) the Early Start program;

13 ‘‘(iii) the Healthy Start program;

14 ‘‘(iv) programs under the Child Care

15 and Development Block Grant Act of

16 1990;

17 ‘‘(v) programs under title XIX of the

18 Social Security Act (particularly the Med19 icaid Early and Periodic Screening, Diag20 nosis and Treatment Program);

21 ‘‘(vi) the program under title XXI of

22 the Social Security Act (the State Chil23 dren’s Health Insurance Program);
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1 ‘‘(vii) the program under title V of the

2 Social Security Act (Maternal and Child

3 Health Block Grant Program);

4 ‘‘(viii) the program under parts B and

5 C of the Individuals with Disabilities Edu6 cation Act;

7 ‘‘(ix) the special supplemental nutri8 tion program for women, infants, and chil9 dren established under section 17 of the

10 Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C.

11 1786); and

12 ‘‘(x) the State grant program under

13 the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

14 ‘‘(B) State licensed child care facilities;

15 and

16 ‘‘(C) other community-based organizations

17 or points of entry for individuals with autism

18 spectrum disorder and other developmental dis19 abilities to receive services.

20 ‘‘(2) LEAD AGENCY.—

21 ‘‘(A) DESIGNATION.—The governor of a

22 State shall designate a public agency as a lead

23 agency to coordinate the activities provided for

24 under paragraph (1) in the State at the State

25 level.
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1 ‘‘(B) INFORMATION.—The Governor or a

2 State, acting through the lead agency under

3 subparagraph (A), shall make available to indi4 viduals and their family members, guardians,

5 advocates, or authorized representatives, pro6 viders, and other appropriate individuals in the

7 State, comprehensive culturally competent in8 formation about State and local resources re9 garding autism spectrum disorder and other de10 velopmental disabilities, risk factors, character11 istics, identification, diagnosis or rule out, avail12 able services and supports, and evidence-based

13 interventions. Such information shall be pro14 vided through—

15 ‘‘(i) toll-free telephone numbers;

16 ‘‘(ii) Internet websites;

17 ‘‘(iii) mailings; or

18 ‘‘(iv) other means as the Governor

19 may require.

20 ‘‘(C) REQUIREMENTS OF AGENCY.—In des21 ignating the lead agency under subparagraph

22 (A), the Governor shall—

23 ‘‘(i) select an agency that has dem24 onstrated experience and expertise in—
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1 ‘‘(I) autism spectrum disorder

2 and other developmental disability

3 issues; and

4 ‘‘(II) developing, implementing,

5 conducting, and administering pro6 grams and delivering education, infor7 mation, and referral services (includ8 ing technology-based curriculum-devel9 opment services) to individuals with

10 developmental disabilities and their

11 family members, guardians, advocates

12 or authorized representatives, pro13 viders, and other appropriate individ14 uals locally and across the State; and

15 ‘‘(ii) consider input from individuals

16 with developmental disabilities and their

17 family members, guardians, advocates or

18 authorized representatives, providers, and

19 other appropriate individuals.

20 ‘‘(d) TOOLS.—

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To promote the use of valid

22 and reliable screening tools for autism spectrum dis23 order and other developmental disabilities, the Sec24 retary shall develop a curriculum for continuing edu25 cation to assist individuals in recognizing the need
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1 for valid and reliable screening tools and the use of

2 such tools.

3 ‘‘(2) COLLECTION, STORAGE, COORDINATION,

4 AND AVAILABILITY.—The Secretary, in collaboration

5 with the Secretary of Education, shall provide for

6 the collection, storage, coordination, and public

7 availability of tools described in paragraph (1), edu8 cational materials and other products that are used

9 by the Federal programs referred to in subsection

10 (c)(1)(A), as well as—

11 ‘‘(A) programs authorized under the Devel12 opmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of

13 Rights Act of 2000;

14 ‘‘(B) early intervention programs or inter15 agency coordinating council’s authorized under

16 part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Edu17 cation Act; and

18 ‘‘(C) children with special health care

19 needs programs authorized under title V of the

20 Social Security Act.

21 ‘‘(3) REQUIRED SHARING.—In establishing

22 mechanisms and entities under this subsection, the

23 Secretary, and the Secretary of Education, shall en24 sure the sharing of tools, materials, and products de-
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1 veloped under this subsection among entities receiv2 ing funding under this section.

3 ‘‘(e) DIAGNOSIS.—

4 ‘‘(1) TRAINING.—The Secretary, in coordina5 tion with activities conducted under title V of the

6 Social Security Act, shall, subject to the availability

7 of appropriations, expand existing interdisciplinary

8 training opportunities or opportunities to increase

9 the number of sites able to diagnose or rule out indi10 viduals with autism spectrum disorder or other de11 velopmental disabilities and ensure that—

12 ‘‘(A) competitive grants or cooperative

13 agreements are awarded to public or non-profit

14 agencies, including institutions of higher edu15 cation, to expanding existing or develop new

16 maternal and child health interdisciplinary lead17 ership education in neurodevelopmental and re18 lated disabilities programs (similar to the pro19 grams developed under section 501(a)(2) of the

20 Social Security Act) in States that do not have

21 such a program;

22 ‘‘(B) trainees under such training

23 programs—
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1 ‘‘(i) receive an appropriate balance of

2 academic, clinical, and community opportu3 nities;

4 ‘‘(ii) are culturally competent;

5 ‘‘(iii) are ethnically diverse;

6 ‘‘(iv) demonstrate a capacity to evalu7 ate, diagnose or rule out, develop, and pro8 vide evidence-based interventions to indi9 viduals with autism spectrum disorder and

10 other developmental disabilities; and

11 ‘‘(v) demonstrate an ability to use a

12 family-centered approach; and

13 ‘‘(C) program sites provide culturally com14 petent services.

15 ‘‘(2) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary

16 may award one or more grants under this section to

17 provide technical assistance to the network of inter18 disciplinary training programs.

19 ‘‘(3) BEST PRACTICES.—The Secretary shall

20 promote research into additional valid and reliable

21 tools for shortening the time required to confirm or

22 rule out a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder or

23 other developmental disabilities and detecting indi24 viduals with autism spectrum disorder or other de25 velopmental disabilities at an earlier age.
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1 ‘‘(f) INTERVENTION.—The Secretary shall promote

2 research, through grants or contracts, to determine the

3 evidence-based practices for interventions for individuals

4 with autism spectrum disorder or other developmental dis5 abilities, develop guidelines for those interventions, and

6 disseminate information related to such research and

7 guidelines.

8 ‘‘(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To

9 carry out this section, there is authorized to be appro10 priated, $32,000,000 for fiscal year 2007, $37,000,000

11 for fiscal year 2008, $42,000,000 for fiscal year 2009,

12 $47,000,000 for fiscal year 2010, and $52,000,000 for fis13 cal year 2011, of which—

14 ‘‘(1) $5,000,000 shall be made available in each

15 fiscal year for activities described in subsection (c);

16 and

17 ‘‘(2) $3,000,000 shall be made available in fis18 cal year 2007, $6,000,000 in fiscal year 2008,

19 $9,000,000 in fiscal year 2009, $12,000,000 in fis20 cal year 2010, and $15,000,000 in fiscal year 2011,

21 for activities described in subsection (f).

22 ‘‘(h) SUNSET.—This section shall not apply after

23 September 30, 2011.
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1 ‘‘SEC. 399CC. INTERAGENCY AUTISM COORDINATING COM2 MITTEE.

3 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall estab4 lish a committee, to be known as the ‘Interagency Autism

5 Coordinating Committee’ (in this section referred to as the

6 ‘Committee’), to coordinate all efforts within the Depart7 ment of Health and Human Services concerning autism

8 spectrum disorder.

9 ‘‘(b) RESPONSIBILITIES.—In carrying out its duties

10 under this section, the Committee shall—

11 ‘‘(1) make recommendations concerning the

12 strategic plan described in section 409C(a);

13 ‘‘(2) develop and annually update advances in

14 autism spectrum disorder research related to causes,

15 early screening, diagnosis or rule out, intervention,

16 and access to services and supports for individuals

17 with autism spectrum disorder; and

18 ‘‘(3) make recommendations to the Secretary

19 regarding the public participation in decisions relat20 ing to autism spectrum disorder.

21 ‘‘(c) MEMBERSHIP.—

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Committee shall be

23 composed of—

24 ‘‘(A) the Director of the Centers for Dis25 ease Control and Prevention;
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1 ‘‘(B) the Director of the National Insti2 tutes of Health, and the Directors of such na3 tional research institutes of the National Insti4 tutes of Health as the Secretary determines ap5 propriate;

6 ‘‘(C) the heads of such other agencies as

7 the Secretary determines appropriate;

8 ‘‘(D) representatives of other Federal Gov9 ernmental agencies that serve individuals with

10 autism spectrum disorder such as the Depart11 ment of Education; and

12 ‘‘(E) the additional members appointed

13 under paragraph (2).

14 ‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL MEMBERS.—Not fewer than

15 6 members of the Committee, or 1/3 of the total

16 membership of the Committee, whichever is greater,

17 shall be composed of non-federal public members to

18 be appointed by the Secretary, of which—

19 ‘‘(A) at least one such member shall be an

20 individual with a diagnosis of autism spectrum

21 disorder;

22 ‘‘(B) at least one such member shall be a

23 parent or legal guardian of an individual with

24 an autism spectrum disorder; and
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1 ‘‘(C) at least one such member shall be a

2 representative of leading research, advocacy,

3 and service organizations for individuals with

4 autism spectrum disorder.

5 ‘‘(d) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT; TERMS OF SERV6 ICE; OTHER PROVISIONS.—The following provisions shall

7 apply with respect to the Committee:

8 ‘‘(1) The Committee shall receive necessary and

9 appropriate administrative support from the Sec10 retary.

11 ‘‘(2) Members of the Committee appointed

12 under subsection (c)(2) shall serve for a term of 4

13 years, and may be reappointed for one or more addi14 tional 4 year term. Any member appointed to fill a

15 vacancy for an unexpired term shall be appointed for

16 the remainder of such term. A member may serve

17 after the expiration of the member’s term until a

18 successor has taken office.

19 ‘‘(3) The Committee shall meet at the call of

20 the chairperson or upon the request of the Sec21 retary. The Committee shall meet not fewer than 2

22 times each year.

23 ‘‘(4) All meetings of the Committee shall be

24 public and shall include appropriate time periods for

25 questions and presentations by the public.
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1 ‘‘(e) COMPENSATION AND EXPENSES.—Members of

2 the Committee who are officers or employees of the Fed3 eral Government shall serve as members of the Committee

4 without compensation in addition to that received in their

5 regular government employment. Other members of the

6 Committee shall receive compensation at rates not to ex7 ceed the daily equivalent of the annual rate in effect for

8 grade GS–18 of the General Schedule for each day (in9 cluding travel time) they are engaged in the performance

10 of their duties as members of the Committee.

11 ‘‘(f) SUBCOMMITTEES; ESTABLISHMENT AND MEM12 BERSHIP.—In carrying out its functions, the Committee

13 may establish subcommittees and convene workshops and

14 conferences. Such subcommittees shall be composed of

15 Committee members and may hold such meetings as are

16 necessary to enable the subcommittees to carry out their

17 duties.

18 ‘‘(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To

19 carry out this section, there is authorized to be appro20 priated, such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal

21 years 2007 through 2011.

22 ‘‘(h) SUNSET.—This section shall not apply after

23 September 30, 2011 and the Committee shall be termi24 nated on such date.
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1 ‘‘SEC. 399DD. REPORT TO CONGRESS.

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 4 years after the

3 date of enactment of the Combating Autism Act of 2006,

4 the Secretary, in coordination with the Secretary of Edu5 cation, shall prepare and submit to the Health, Education,

6 Labor, and Pensions Committee of the Senate and the En7 ergy and Commerce Committee of the House of Rep8 resentatives a progress report on activities related to au9 tism spectrum disorder and other developmental disabil10 ities.

11 ‘‘(b) CONTENTS.—The report submitted under sub12 section (a) shall contain—

13 ‘‘(1) a description of the progress made in im14 plementing the provisions of the Combating Autism

15 Act of 2006;

16 ‘‘(2) a description of the amounts expended on

17 the implementation of the particular provisions of

18 Combating Autism Act of 2006;

19 ‘‘(3) information on the incidence of autism

20 spectrum disorder and trend data of such incidence

21 since the date of enactment of the Combating Au22 tism Act of 2006;

23 ‘‘(4) information on the average age of diag24 nosis for children with autism spectrum disorder and

25 other disabilities, including how that age may have
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1 changed over the 4-year period beginning on the

2 date of enactment of this Act;

3 ‘‘(5) information on the average age for inter4 vention for individuals diagnosed with autism spec5 trum disorder and other developmental disabilities,

6 including how that age may have changed over the

7 4-year period beginning on the date of enactment of

8 this Act;

9 ‘‘(6) information on the average time between

10 initial screening and then diagnosis or rule out for

11 individuals with autism spectrum disorder or other

12 developmental disabilities, as well as information on

13 the average time between diagnosis and evidence14 based intervention for individuals with autism spec15 trum disorder or other developmental disabilities;

16 ‘‘(7) information on the effectiveness and out17 comes of interventions for individuals diagnosed with

18 autism spectrum disorder, including by various

19 subtypes, and other developmental disabilities and

20 how the age of the child may affect such effective21 ness;

22 ‘‘(8) information on the effectiveness and out23 comes of innovative and newly developed intervention

24 strategies for individuals with autism spectrum dis25 order or other developmental disabilities; and
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1 ‘‘(9) information on services and supports pro2 vided to individuals with autism spectrum disorder

3 and other developmental disabilities who have

4 reached the age of majority (as defined for purposes

5 of section 615(m) of the Individuals with Disabilities

6 Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1415(m)).’’.

7 (b) REPEALS.—The following sections of the Chil8 dren’s Health Act of 2000 (Public Law 106–310) are re9 pealed:

10 (1) Section 101 (42 U.S.C. 247b–4a) relating

11 to research activities at the National Institutes of

12 Health.

13 (2) Section 102 (42 U.S.C. 247b–4b) relating

14 to the Developmental Disabilities Surveillance and

15 Research Program.

16 (3) Section 103 (42 U.S.C. 247b–4c) relating

17 to information and education.

18 (4) Section 104 (42 U.S.C. 247b–4d) relating

19 to the Inter-Agency Autism Coordinating Com20 mittee.
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1 (5) Section 105 (42 U.S.C. 247b–4e) relating

2 to reports.

Passed the Senate August 3, 2006.

Attest:

Secretary.
109TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 843

AN ACT

To amend the Public Health Service Act to combat

and education.autism through research, screening, intervention