Chris Smith: “I thank the chairman for yielding and thank him for his strong support, along with Chairman Fred Upton, former Chairman…”

“I thank the chairman for yielding and thank him for his strong support, along with Chairman Fred Upton, former Chairman Henry Waxman, and so many others--Mike Doyle, my good friend and colleague, who together, since 2000, headed up the Coalition for Autism Research and Education. We have done everything bipartisan. We have 91 members in the coalition right now. I would also like to thank the staff, who have helped us move this bill and negotiate text, including Gary Andres, Cheryl Jaeger, Brenda Destro, Jean Roehrenbeck, Katie Novaria, Cate Benedetti, and, of course, Neil Bradley, and so many others who have been so critical to this legislation. Mr. Speaker, previous autism law, including the Combating Autism Reauthorization Act of 2011, made critical investments--continued by this bill--that are working to determine the causes of autism spectrum disorder, identify autistic children as early as possible to begin treatment, raise critical awareness, and develop new therapies and effective services. The latest prevalence data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Mr. Speaker, is shocking. One in every 68 American children are on the autism spectrum, a tenfold increase over the last 40 years. Boys on the spectrum outnumber girls 5 to 1. In my home State of New Jersey, one in every 45 children has ASD, the highest rate in the CDC study. I would note parenthetically, Mr.…”