John Rice Carter: “I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, reauthorizing the Autism CARES Act will continue the scientific…”

“I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, reauthorizing the Autism CARES Act will continue the scientific development in understanding autism and support those with autism spectrum disorder. Since its original passage in 2006, we have invested over $3 billion for the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Health Resources and Services Administration to help the autism community. We provided services through programs and grants to benefit individuals with autism. We have improved training for those working with autistic patients, including how to better deter and diagnose autism. We have expanded prevalence monitoring to improve our understanding of our population, and we have also invested in research that transforms our understanding of autism spectrum disorder and how we were able to treat and care for that community. In Georgia, we are able to see up close what a big impact these programs can make in our children's lives. Children's Hospital of Atlanta's Marcus Autism Center is one of the largest autism centers in the U.S. Since opening, they have treated more than 40,000 children from Georgia and across the country, and we are blessed to have them in our State. This reauthorization builds on our good work from the past, ensuring that places like the Marcus Autism Center can continue helping our children moving forward. I encourage my colleagues to support this legislation.”