I 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 843 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 6, 2006 

Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

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 availVerDate Aug 31 2005 22:01 Sep 07, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S843.RFH S843

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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 

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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 

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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 pro23 grams— 


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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: EMILY J. REYNOLDS, 

Secretary. 


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