Ocean County Leader

Comprehensive legislation authored by Representative Chris Smith (R-NJ) to provide significant funding and enhanced support for Americans with autism has been signed into law. The Autism CARES Act of 2024 will allocate over $1.95 billion across five years for programs at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).

"At CDC, the funding will support ongoing developmental disability surveillance and research; at HRSA, the funding will cover education, early detection, and intervention services; at NIH, the funding will drive research as well as the coordination of autism-related activities, including the Inter Agency Coordinating Committee (IACC)," Smith stated during a House Floor debate on December 16th.

Smith emphasized his long-standing involvement with autism legislation: "As the prime author of the Autism Cares Act of 2024 and previous iterations of the law in 2011, 2014, and 2019, I know this legislation will help make a huge difference in the lives of 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."

The CDC reports that "1 in 36 children in the United States—including 1 in 35 children in my home state of New Jersey—are on the autism spectrum," according to Smith. He added that his legislation focuses on critical research goals aimed at responsive interventions for an estimated 6.8 million individuals with autism.

The bill had bipartisan support from Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) along with 61 other cosponsors. Dr. Cuellar expressed satisfaction over its passage: "I am pleased to help pass this bipartisan legislation... This bipartisan bill will provide vital funding to expand research and care for Americans with autism."

Smith's bill has garnered strong backing from leading advocacy groups such as Autism New Jersey, Autism Speaks, among others.

The Autism Collaboration, Accountability, Research, Education, and Support (CARES) Act includes several key initiatives:

- Directing NIH to explore issues faced by individuals with aging concerns or co-occurring conditions.

- Increasing NIH Centers of Excellence to seven.

- Introducing a professional bypass budget highlighting priority research areas.

- Promoting assistive communication technologies.

Smith credited Bobbie and Billy Gallagher from Brick Township for their influence since September 1997 when they advocated tirelessly due to personal connections through their children Austin and Alanna.

"We met several times... only to realize that federal autism programs were woefully inadequate—almost nonexistent," noted Smith about his collaboration with them which led him to author related legislative efforts starting with Title I of Children’s Health Act of 2000 focused on data collection regarding autism prevalence rates.