Ocean County Leader

The House of Representatives today overwhelmingly passed (402-13) new comprehensive legislation (HR 7213) authored by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) to provide more than $1.95 billion to reauthorize and strengthen the United States’ whole-of-government autism spectrum disorder (ASD) initiative through 2029. Smith’s bill—with Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) as the Democrat lead and 61 other bipartisan cosponsors—now heads to the Senate.

Smith, who has authored four major autism laws to date, said his new legislation “will help make a huge difference in the lives of the millions of Americans with autism by providing robust funding for durable remedies as well as effective early detection and intervention services to allow them the highest quality of life possible.”

“With substantive input from advocates in the autism community, my legislation will also help advance key research priorities and ensure enhanced collaboration between federal agencies and families and individuals with autism,” Smith said.

“This bipartisan bill will provide vital funding to expand research and care for Americans with autism,” said Dr. Cuellar, a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee. “Through this bill, we continue important work in understanding the causes of autism, the best ways to treat autism, and incorporate the voices of those previously missed by research. I would like to thank Representative Chris Smith for his leadership on this important legislation.”

Smith’s legislation—which received unanimous approval from the House Energy and Commerce Committee in a vote (42-0) to send the bill to the House Floor earlier this year—has received strong support from leading national autism advocacy groups, including Autism Speaks, the Autism Society, the Autism Science Foundation, The Arc of the United States, The Profound Autism Alliance, and The Association of University Centers on Disabilities.

Specifically, the Autism Collaboration, Accountability, Research, Education, and Support (CARES) Act of 2024 would:

- Authorize $1.95 billion—including $306 million in annual funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH); $28.1 million in annual funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); and $56.3 million in annual funding for the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA);

- Direct NIH to ensure research reflects individuals with ASD's entire population range including cognitive, communicative, behavioral functioning as well as co-occurring conditions;

- Increase NIH Centers of Excellence ensuring research addresses all needs faced by individuals with ASD;

- Include a professional bypass budget highlighting priority research areas;

- Promote adoption of assistive communication technologies;

- Require a report on youth aging out of school-aged services with recommendations on improving mental health outcomes.

Smith has been an advocate for autism since 1997 when Bobbie and Billy Gallagher approached him about high rates of students with autism in Brick Township. This led Smith to bring federal agencies into Ocean County for an investigation that found high prevalence rates not only in Brick but nearby communities too. Consequently, he authored Title I of The Children’s Health Act of 2000 authorizing grants for data collection on autism.