Cure Autism Now and Autism Speaks Applaud Approval of the Combating Autism Act by United States House of Representatives

Landmark Legislation Authorizing Nearly $1 Billion in Autism Funding Now Moves Back to the Senate for Prompt Action

Leadership of Autism Speaks and Cure Autism Now, nonprofit organizations dedicated to increasing awareness of autism and raising money to fund autism research, today applauded the passage in the United States House of Representatives of the Combating Autism Act  (S. 843). The bill authorizes nearly 1 billion dollars over the next five years to combat autism through research, screening, early detection and early intervention. The new legislation will increase federal spending on autism by at least 50 percent. It includes provisions relating to the diagnosis and treatment of persons with Autism Spectrum Disorders, and expands and intensifies biomedical research on autism, including an essential focus on possible environmental causes. Autism is now diagnosed in 1 in 166 children according to the Centers for Disease Control.  Read more in the Cure Autism Now Newsroom.