[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5446 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5446

  To establish a health and education grant program related to autism 
              spectrum disorders, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 14, 2008

Mr. Smith of New Jersey (for himself, Mr. Doyle, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, Mr. 
 Langevin, Mr. Pence, Mr. Wolf, and Mr. Weldon of Florida) introduced 
  the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
                                Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To establish a health and education grant program related to autism 
              spectrum disorders, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Global Autism Assistance Act of 
2008''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The occurrence of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) has 
        increased during the past decade from an estimated one in 500 
        to an estimated one in 150, according to data released by the 
        Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in February 
        2007. CDC classified as suffering from ASD children whose 
        behaviors were consistent with the DSM-IV-TR criteria for 
        Autistic Disorder, Asperger's Disorder, and Pervasive 
        Developmental Disorder--Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS).
            (2) Autism is a complex neurological disorder that affects 
        an individual in the areas of social interaction and 
        communication. Because it is a spectrum disorder, it affects 
        each individual differently and to varying degrees of severity. 
        People with autism process and respond to information in unique 
        ways. In some cases, coexisting medical issues and aggressive 
        or self-injurious behavior may be present.
            (3) The increased number of children diagnosed with autism 
        is a growing and urgent concern for families, healthcare 
        professionals, and educators, as the health and education 
        systems struggle to respond to the needs of this population in 
        a comprehensive manner.
            (4) The prevalence of autism in developing countries is 
        also growing rapidly, and health and education systems in these 
        countries are particularly ill-equipped to deal with these 
        issues. Experts estimate, for example, that there are 
        approximately 2,500,000 people with an autism spectrum disorder 
        in China, and approximately 2,000,000 in India alone. A large 
        number of these people are children, although reliable 
        statistics are difficult to come by.
            (5) Children with autism who receive intensive and 
        appropriate educational services before age five often make 
        significant functional improvements. In the United States, 
        significant efforts are being pursued to expand early diagnosis 
        and the provision of these services. In a report on the 
        identification, evaluation and management of children with 
        autism, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended in 
        November 2007 that all children should be screened for autism 
        twice by the age of two, even if they have no symptoms. Early 
        screening and services for autism are sorely lacking in most of 
        the developing world. An opportunity exists to use United 
        States expertise to significantly aid children and families in 
        developing countries, for relatively small costs.

SEC. 3. GLOBAL AUTISM ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.

    (a) Establishment and Purpose.--The Administrator for the United 
States Agency for International Development shall establish and 
administer a health and education grant program to be known as the 
``Global Autism Assistance Program'' to--
            (1) support activities under subsection (c)(2) by 
        nongovernmental organizations and other service providers, 
        including advocacy groups, focused on autism in developing 
        countries; and
            (2) establish a ``teach the teachers'' program under 
        subsection (d) to train health and education professionals 
        working with children with autism in developing countries.
    (b) Designation of Eligible Regions.--Not later than 120 days after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator, in 
consultation with knowledgable autism organizations such as the World 
Autism Organization, the Autism Society of America, and Autism Speaks, 
shall designate not fewer than two regions in developing countries that 
are determined to--
            (1) require assistance in dealing with autism; and
            (2) have sufficient familiarity with issues related to 
        autism to make effective use of the Global Autism Assistance 
        Program.
    (c) Selection of Implementing NGO.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the 
        designation of eligible regions pursuant to subsection (b), the 
        Administrator shall select and award a grant under this section 
        to a nongovernmental organization with experience in autism-
        related issues to implement the Global Autism Assistance 
        Program through selection and awarding of grants to local 
        service providers and advocacy groups focused on autism.
            (2) Activities.--A local service provider or advocacy group 
        that receives a grant under paragraph (1) may use such grant to 
        carry out any of the following activities (including, as 
        appropriate, the translation into local languages of relevant 
        English-language publications):
                    (A) Education and outreach to the public.--Use 
                public service announcements and other public media to 
                help the public become more aware of the signs of 
                autism so that children with autism can be diagnosed 
                and treated earlier.
                    (B) Support to families.--Development of resources 
                for families, such as online web resource centers in 
                local languages, dissemination of materials to parents 
                of newly-diagnosed children, such as information 
                contained in the Centers for Disease Control and 
                Prevention's publication entitled ``Learn the Signs, 
                Act Early'', or other suitable alternatives, and 
                dissemination of educational aids and guides to help 
                parents with their children's development.
                    (C) Support to educational institutions.--Funding 
                for schools or other educational institutions, focusing 
                on teachers of the youngest students, and including the 
                distribution of equipment or of the materials referred 
                to in subparagraph (B).
                    (D) Support to clinics and medical centers.--
                Provision of funding to clinics and medical centers 
                with proven records in addressing autism to assist with 
                operating expenses, including personnel, equipment 
                supplies, and facilities, development of assessment 
                testing for autism, and acquisition of specialized 
                equipment, such as augmentative communication devices.
            (3) Applications for grants.--
                    (A) Submission of applications.--To be eligible to 
                receive a grant from the implementing nongovernmental 
                organization, a local service provider or advocacy 
                group shall submit to such implementing nongovernmental 
                organization an application at such time, in such 
                manner, and containing such information as such 
                implementing nongovernmental organization may require.
                    (B) Establishment of screening board.--
                            (i) In general.--The implementing 
                        nongovernmental organization responsible for 
                        implementing the Global Autism Assistance 
                        Program shall establish a screening board to be 
                        known as the ``Project Advisory Board'' to 
                        review for content and appropriateness 
                        applications from local service providers or 
                        advocacy groups submitted in accordance with 
                        subparagraph (A).
                            (ii) Membership.--The members of the 
                        Project Advisory Board shall be appointed by 
                        the implementing nongovernmental organization, 
                        in consultation with the Administrator, and in 
                        accordance with the following provisions:
                                    (I) Each member shall serve for a 
                                term of one year and each member may 
                                serve as many as three consecutive 
                                terms.
                                    (II) A member of the Project 
                                Advisory Board may continue to serve 
                                after the expiration of the term of 
                                such member until such time as a 
                                successor is appointed.
                                    (III) Membership of the Project 
                                Advisory Board shall include at least 
                                seven voting members who are members of 
                                autism advocacy groups, professionals 
                                working with autism, or otherwise 
                                associated with the autism community. 
                                Among the voting members of the Board 
                                shall be at least two parents from 
                                different families of individuals with 
                                autism, one medical professional 
                                working with autism, one teacher of 
                                individuals with autism, and one 
                                individual who has autism. Efforts 
                                shall be made to include on the Project 
                                Advisory Board individuals with 
                                experience working in the developing 
                                world.
                                    (IV) Membership of the Project 
                                Advisory Board shall include non-voting 
                                members as determined appropriate by 
                                the Administrator.
                                    (V) Membership of the Project 
                                Advisory Board shall be chosen so as to 
                                ensure objectivity and balance and to 
                                reduce the potential for conflicts of 
                                interest.
            (4) Support and assistance.--The implementing 
        nongovernmental organization shall provide, contract for, and 
        coordinate technical assistance in support of its mission in 
        meeting the goals and purposes of this Act.
    (d) Teach the Teachers.--
            (1) In general.--The implementing nongovernmental 
        organization, acting on behalf of the Administrator, in 
        consultation with the Project Advisory Board, shall establish a 
        program, to be known as the ``Teach the Teachers Program'', 
        to--
                    (A) identify health and education professionals to 
                receive specialized training for teaching and working 
                with youth with autism, including training conducted in 
                two- or three-day workshops at locations within one of 
                the two regions designated pursuant to subsection (b); 
                and
                    (B) conduct training through two- or three-day 
                biomedical conferences in the two regions designated 
                pursuant to subsection (b), including bringing medical 
                and psychological specialists from the United States to 
                train and educate parents and health professionals who 
                deal with autism, including training related to 
                biomedical interventions that can affect autism, how 
                nutrition and various metabolic issues can impact 
                behavior, the role of applied behavioral analysis, and 
                various occupational and speech therapies in fighting 
                autism.
    (e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to the Administrator $3,000,000 for each of fiscal years 
2009 and 2010 and $4,000,000 for fiscal year 2011 to carry out this 
section.
    (f) Autism Defined.--For purposes of this Act, the term ``autism'' 
means all conditions consistent with autism spectrum disorders 
described in section 2(1).
                                 <all>