I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3703 
To require the President to call a White House Conference on Autism. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 1, 2009 
Mr. BURTON of Indiana (for himself, Mr. WEXLER, Mr. MCMAHON, and Mr. 
TURNER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To require the President to call a White House Conference 
on Autism. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘White House Con-
ference on Autism Act of 2009’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds the following: 
(1) Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are the 
fastest-growing serious developmental disability in 
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the U.S. occurring in all racial, ethnic, and socio-
economic groups. 
(2) According to the Centers for Disease Con-
trol and Prevention’s Autism and Disabilities Moni-
toring Network the rate of Autism in the United 
States has exploded from an estimated 1 in 10,000 
during the 1980s to a the current rate of 1 in 150 
demonstrating that the United States is facing an 
literal epidemic of autism. 
(3) The epidemic shows no sign of slowing as 
a new case of autism is diagnosed almost every 20 
minutes. 
(4) More children will be diagnosed with autism 
this year than with AIDS, diabetes, and cancer com-
bined. 
(5) 
Autism 
costs 
the 
Nation 
over 
$35,000,000,000 per year, a figure expected to sig-
nificantly increase in the next decade. 
(6) Autism is a life changing condition not a 
life threatening condition. Our Nation’s educational, 
labor, housing and medical communities are ill- 
equipped and undertrained to handle a generation of 
autism individuals. 
(7) In the long-term, this autism epidemic could 
potentially deprive our Nation of a huge pool of fu-
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ture military, industrial, medical, and scientific tal-
ent. 
(8) Although autism spectrum disorders are an 
urgent societal concern and comprehensive research 
is the best hope for understanding the causes of au-
tism and other developmental disorders, autism re-
ceives less than 5 percent of the Federal research 
funding of many less prevalent childhood diseases. 
(9) In December 2006, Congress passed and 
President Bush signed into law the ‘‘Combating Au-
tism Act of 2006,’’ which committed nearly 
$1,000,000,000 to autism research, including essen-
tial research on environmental factors, treatments, 
and early identification and support services. 
(10) A White House Conference on Autism pre-
sents an historic opportunity to build on the founda-
tion of the Combating Autism Act to advance the 
scientific study and analysis of many promising cut-
ting-edge treatments and services for autism. 
SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF THE CONFERENCE. 
(a) AUTHORITY TO CALL CONFERENCE.—Not later 
than December 31, 2010, the President shall call the 
White House Conference on Autism (in this Act referred 
to as the ‘‘Conference’’) to be convened not later than 18 
months after the selection of the Policy Committee estab-
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lished in section 4, in order to make fundamental policy 
recommendations on ways to combat the autism epidemic 
in the United States and to implement the purposes set 
forth in subsection (c). 
(b) PLANNING AND DIRECTION.—The Secretary of 
Health and Human Services, the Secretary of Education, 
and the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (in 
this Act referred to as the ‘‘Cochairs’’) shall plan, conduct, 
and convene the Conference, in consultation with the Sur-
geon General. 
(c) PURPOSES OF THE CONFERENCE.—The purposes 
of the Conference are to— 
(1) galvanize a national effort to find the un-
derlying cause or causes of autism; 
(2) identify viable solutions and valuable serv-
ices to help autistic individuals and families of autis-
tic individuals meet the challenges they face on a 
daily basis; 
(3) bring together the best scientific minds to 
chart a comprehensive research agenda, including 
the exploration of potential environmental triggers 
or contributors; 
(4) bring together parents of autistic children 
and leaders in the field of education and social serv-
ices to begin a national dialogue about addressing 
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