[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 190 (Thursday, October 28, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S7481]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 3975. Mrs. GILLIBRAND (for herself and Mr. Blumenthal) submitted 
an amendment intended to be proposed to amendment SA 3867 submitted by 
Mr. Reed and intended to be proposed to the bill H.R. 4350, to 
authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2022 for military activities 
of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for 
defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military 
personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which 
was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

        At the end of subtitle C of title VII, add the following:

     SEC. 744. INDEPENDENT ANALYSIS OF DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 
                   COMPREHENSIVE AUTISM CARE DEMONSTRATION 
                   PROGRAM.

       (a) Agreement.--
       (1) In general.--The Secretary of Defense shall seek to 
     enter into an agreement with the National Academies of 
     Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (in this section referred 
     to as the ``National Academies'') for the National Academies 
     to carry out the activities described in subsections (b) and 
     (c).
       (2) Timing.--The Secretary shall seek to enter into the 
     agreement described in paragraph (1) not later than 60 days 
     after the date of the enactment of this Act.
       (b) Analysis by the National Academies.--
       (1) Analysis.--Under an agreement between the Secretary and 
     the National Academies entered into under subsection (a), the 
     National Academies shall conduct an analysis of the 
     effectiveness of the Department of Defense Comprehensive 
     Autism Care Demonstration program (in this section referred 
     to as the ``demonstration program'') and develop 
     recommendations for the Secretary based on such analysis.
       (2) Elements.--The analysis conducted and recommendations 
     developed under paragraph (1) shall include the following:
       (A) A review of the use by the Department of Defense of the 
     Pervasive Developmental Disorder Behavior Inventory as an 
     outcome measure, in relation to the goals of intervention, 
     and a determination as to whether the Secretary is applying 
     such inventory appropriately under the demonstration program.
       (B) A review of the raw baseline and follow-up data from 
     providers, including an assessment of how the data were 
     scored and an analysis of the data utilized by the Department 
     in any reports submitted by the Secretary to Congress with 
     respect to the demonstration program.
       (C) An assessment of the methods used under the 
     demonstration program to measure the effectiveness of applied 
     behavior analysis in the treatment of autism spectrum 
     disorder.
       (D) A review of any guidelines or industry standards of 
     care adhered to in the provision of applied behavior analysis 
     services under the demonstration program, including a review 
     of the expected health outcomes for an individual who has 
     received such services.
       (E) A review of the expected health outcomes for an 
     individual who has received applied behavior analysis 
     treatments over time.
       (F) An analysis of the increased utilization of the 
     demonstration program by beneficiaries under the TRICARE 
     program, to improve understanding of such utilization.
       (G) Such other analyses to measure the effectiveness of the 
     demonstration program as may be determined appropriate by the 
     National Academies.
       (H) An analysis on whether the prevalence of autism is 
     higher among the children of military families.
       (I) The development of a list of findings and 
     recommendations related to the measurement, effectiveness, 
     and increased understanding of the demonstration program and 
     its effect on beneficiaries under the TRICARE program.
       (c) Report.--Under an agreement between the Secretary and 
     the National Academies entered into under subsection (a), the 
     National Academies, not later than 270 days after the date of 
     the execution of the agreement, shall--
       (1) submit to the congressional defense committees a report 
     on the findings of the National Academies with respect to the 
     analysis conducted and recommendations developed under 
     subsection (b); and
       (2) make such report available on a public website in 
     unclassified form.
       (d) TRICARE Program Defined.--In this section, the term 
     ``TRICARE program'' has the meaning given that term in 
     section 1072(7) of title 10, United States Code.
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