When Rep. Chris Smith takes on an issue on behalf of his constituents, he is tenacious. And he gets things done. The latest example was seen last week with the passage of the Combating Autism Reauthorization Act, a bill that authorizes $693 million in spending on autism research over the next three years.

    It is a big sum, and badly needed. Autism has become an epidemic in this country, and New Jersey is particularly vulnerable. About 1 in 110 children nationally and 1 in 94 in New Jersey have an autism spectrum disorder, totaling 1.5 million individuals in the U.S. A 2007 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study found New Jersey had the highest autism rate among 14 states studied.

    The passage of the bill will allow the continuation of the work funded by the original Combating Autism Act in 2006. A requirement of that act calls for an annual report by members of the Autism Coordinating Committee summarizing each year’s top advances in the field. The list for 2010, found on the federal Department of Health and Human Services website, gets very technical. But there are a number of incremental steps that may add up to a brighter future for the autistic and their families.

    The Reauthorization Act directs $22 million for the Developmental Disabilities Surveillance and Research Program, $48 million for autism education, early detection and intervention, and $161 million for hundreds of research grants at the National Institutes of Health and the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee annually.

    We can only hope further research will stem the tide of autism and provide real breakthroughs in prevention and treatment. But for those who say the federal government should have no role in medical research and funding, this act stands as testimony to the need for such a broad, coordinated effort.

    Smith deserves credit for keeping attention focused on that need.

Original story, printed on Weds., Oct. 5, 2011:

http://www.app.com/article/20111005/NJOPINION01/310050017/Smith-gains-funding-autism-research?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|Opinion|s