Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I want to address a very important issue that is currently before the Senate. This past Tuesday I submitted a bill to the Senate--the Combating Autism Reauthorization Act, S. 1094-- for a unanimous consent agreement. Since then, the Republicans have blocked this bi-partisan bill from passing. The Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee reported this legislation unanimously on September 7, 2011. My legislation is a simple 3-year extension of the Combating Autism Act, CAA, of 2006. This original legislation was passed out of the Senate by unanimous consent on December 7, 2006, and signed into law shortly thereafter. This landmark legislation included provisions relating to the diagnosis and treatment of persons with autism spectrum disorders, ASD, and expanded and intensified biomedical research on autism, including a focus on possible environmental causes. Additionally, it provides for detailed surveillance by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC, of the increasing prevalence of autism spectrum disorders, ASD. The Act also reconstitutes the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee to advise the Secretary, coordinate the federal response to autism and develop the annual strategic plan for autism research. I am greatly disappointed that my colleagues on the other side are playing politics with this bill.…”