The BAD BILL has now passed in the HOUSE and in the Senate HELP committee!!
On Tuesday June 24, 2014, the House voted a passed H.R. 4631, renamed, “Autism CARES” The Autism Collaboration, Accountability, Research, Education and Support Act.
On Wednesday June 25, 2014, the Senate version of this same bill passed in the Senate HELP Committee.
Now we have just 48 hours to stop the bill from passing AS IS!!
Now it goes to the full Senate for unanimous consent vote. One Senator can place the bill on hold and allow us to fix the bill.
Today was unusual in that the Senate HELP committee took the bill out of committee for the vote in the morning and set up meetings that were closed to the public and during that time took a closed door vote.
THIS IS A BAD BILL AND WE NEED YOUR HELP TO STOP IT!!
If no Senator objects, this seriously flawed bill — continuing the failed status quo of federal autism policy — could be headed to the desk of the President within days.
The Autism Policy Reform Coalition (APRC) stands by individuals disabled by autism, their families and communities, in stating that this is a bill that needs drastic improvements. APRC has been working to reform the Act with policy for environmental research; better coordination and accountability in government structures; better medical services for individuals with co-morbidities; help for wandering, neglect, abuse, and restraints; and better prevalence counting and epidemiology. Our policy is online at: www.autismpolicy.org/our-mission
As a result of the rush to get this bill passed, and claim a false “victory”, it has been portrayed as a good bill for those facing Autism. APRC feels the changes in the Act are cosmetic at best, and we demand legislation which will be effective.
We are asking you to call the following Senators and ask them to place a hold on the bill and work with the APRC to either amend the bill or allow the existing law to sunset and start fresh to introduce new legislation for Autism.
YOUR CALL CAN MAKE THE DIFFERENCE: CALL TODAY!! CALL NOW!!
- Senator Ted Cruz, 202-224-5922
- Senator Rand Paul, 202-224-4343
- Senator Mike Lee, 202-224-5444
- Senator Roy Blunt, 202-224-5721
- Senator Ron Johnson, 202-224-5323
- Senator Jim Risch, 202-224-2752
ASK THEM TO HOLD THE BILL:
We need to call the Senators and request that they HOLD the bill. Call and say S.2449, The Autism CARES Act, is coming up for unanimous consent – Please DO NOT vote yes, instead please WITHHOLD CONSENT to a Motion for Unanimous Consent on S.2449, because it needs to be fixed.
Reasons:
The APRC Policy paper is available online at http://www.autismpolicy.org/our-mission
The government has spent $1.7 Billion and it has not prevented one case of autism nor has it come up with a single treatment for those severely affected by autism. Our coalition which represents over 100,000 families requests that you help us and hold the bill so as to get a better bill that addresses the medical translation research and government accountability structures that will create an improved federal response.
No hearings have been held to gain public input on the bill. The APRC agrees with the recent GAO report that raised concerns about accountability in research spending and we want the spending to match what the scientists have declared in the strategic plan.
