[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 5]
[House]
[Pages 6168-6169]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



 A JOURNEY OF A THOUSAND MILES BEGINS WITH A SINGLE STEP IN FINDING A 
                            CURE FOR AUTISM

  (Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Madam Speaker, my good friends Charles and Patience 
Flick have two children, Bonnie and Willis, who have autism, a 
developmental disorder that has robbed them of their ability to 
communicate and to interact with their family and with their playmates.
  Autism is a brain disorder that impacts an individual's ability to 
respond appropriately to the environment and to form relationships. It 
affects at least one in every 500 children in America and some suggest 
that those numbers are actually one in 200.
  Today, our Committee on Government Reform will investigate this 
dramatic rise in autism. We need to fully fund research that will help 
lead to better treatment options and, indeed, even a cure.
  As a member of the House Autism Caucus, I am committed to work toward 
an increase of $6 million for the National Institutes of Health and, in

[[Page 6169]]

addition, $5 million to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 
for the cure for autism.
  A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, Madam 
Speaker; and I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting this increase 
in research funding, which may lead to a cure to help thousands of 
America's families.

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