[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1128 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1128

 To establish a National Autism Spectrum Disorders Initiative and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 26, 2011

 Mr. Menendez introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
  referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To establish a National Autism Spectrum Disorders Initiative 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 ``National Autism Spectrum Disorders 
Initiative Act of 2011''.

SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE NATIONAL AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDERS 
              INITIATIVE.

    Part R of title III of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 
280i et seq.) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating section 399EE as section 399FF; and
            (2) by inserting after section 399DD the following:

``SEC. 399EE. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE NATIONAL AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDERS 
              INITIATIVE.

    ``(a) In General.--There is established in the Office of the 
Secretary of Health and Human Services the National Autism Spectrum 
Disorders Initiative (referred to in this Act as the `Initiative'). The 
principal goal of the Initiative is to improve the lives of individuals 
with autism spectrum disorders through research focused on prevention, 
treatment, services, and cures.
    ``(b) Duties of the Secretary Under the Initiative.--The Secretary 
or the Secretary's designee--
            ``(1) shall act as the primary Federal official with 
        responsibility for overseeing all research on autism spectrum 
        disorders conducted or supported by the National Institutes of 
        Health;
            ``(2) shall review the strategic plan described in section 
        399CC(b)(5), approve or reject such plan, and be responsible 
        for the implementation of any such plan the Secretary approves;
            ``(3) shall receive directly from the President and the 
        Director of the Office of Management and Budget all funds 
        available for autism spectrum disorder activities of the 
        National Institutes of Health;
            ``(4) from the amounts received under paragraph (3) for the 
        fiscal year, shall allocate, in consultation with the Director 
        of the National Institutes of Health, to the agencies of the 
        National Institutes of Health in accordance with the strategic 
        plan all amounts available for such year for carrying out 
        autism spectrum disorder activities;
            ``(5) to the extent practicable, shall allocate amounts 
        under paragraph (4) not later than 30 days after the date on 
        which the Secretary or the Secretary's designee receives the 
        amounts described under paragraph (3);
            ``(6) may reallocate up to 3 percent of the total amount 
        allocated under paragraph (4) as needs change and opportunities 
        arise;
            ``(7) shall plan and evaluate research and other activities 
        related to autism spectrum disorders conducted or supported by 
        the agencies of the National Institutes of Health, evaluating 
        the activities of each such agency and providing for the 
        periodic reevaluation of such activities;
            ``(8) shall maintain communications with all relevant 
        departments of the Federal Government to ensure the timely 
        transmission of information concerning autism spectrum 
        disorders; and
            ``(9) shall carry out this section in consultation with the 
        heads of the agencies of the National Institutes of Health, 
        with the advisory councils of such agencies, and with the 
        Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee.''.

SEC. 3. ACTIVITIES OF THE NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH WITH RESPECT TO 
              AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDERS.

    Section 409C of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 284g) is 
amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ``basic and clinical 
        research'' and inserting ``basic, clinical, and translational 
        research'';
            (2) in subsection (b)(2)--
                    (A) by striking ``basic and clinical research'' and 
                inserting ``basic, clinical, and translational 
                research''; and
                    (B) by inserting ``, building upon the 
                recommendations set forth in the most recent strategic 
                plan for autism spectrum disorders of the Interagency 
                Autism Coordinating Committee established under section 
                399CC'' before the period at the end of the second 
                sentence;
            (3) in subsection (c), by inserting ``, biomaterials for 
        induced pluripotent stem cells, biosamples relevant to 
        environmental exposures,'' after ``tissues''; and
            (4) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(e) Definition.--In this section, the term `translational 
research' means research that emphasizes the development and delivery 
of effective new therapies to patients.''.

SEC. 4. CLARIFYING AMENDMENTS WITH RESPECT TO AUTISM INTERVENTION.

    Section 399BB(f) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 280i-
1(f)) is amended--
            (1) by inserting ``to research networks'' after 
        ``contracts''; and
            (2) by striking ``interventions for individuals'' and 
        inserting ``interventions to improve the physical and 
        behavioral health and well-being of individuals''.
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