House Passes Autism CARES

The Hill reports:

The House on Tuesday gave voice vote approval to legislation to reauthorize federal autism research and assistance programs for five years.

The current three-year authorization of autism research and support programs expires Oct. 1.

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A provision in the bill as amended during a House Energy and Commerce Committee markup would require the Health and Human Services secretary to assign a deputy to oversee federal autism research and services and ensure programs are not duplicative.

The language came in response to a Government Accountability Office finding last year that 84 percent of current autism research projects have potential to overlap.

Autism advocacy support groups, including Autism Speaks, have endorsed the measure.

The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that the legislation would cost $1.3 billion over fiscal 2015 to 2019.