The Senate Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations Committee approved its version of the FY 2008 spending bill, including a 52 percent increase for autism-related activities at the CDC and Health and Resources Services Administration. This is the full amount authorized for these programs under the Combating Autism Act.

Specifically, the bill provides $37 million for the Neurodevelopmental Disabilities Residency Program and the Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics Training Program, which both provide long-term, graduate-level interdisciplinary training, as well as services and care for infants, children and adolescents with disabilities. The Committee also provided $16.5 million for CDC’s autism programs, which include the Centers for Autism and Developmental Disabilities Epidemiology (CADDRE) and the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network. The House also provided $16.5 million for these programs.

Because funding levels for autism are different in the House and Senate bills, they will need to be worked out in a conference committee. ASA will be working diligently to ensure that autism activities receive the resources they need.