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Autism

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Autism

My only grandson is autistic, so this is an issue that is very close to my heart.

Dan Burton

Principles

Because of my grandson, I took it upon myself to learn about autism during my tenure as Chairman of the House Government Reform Committee (1997-2002), and as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Human Rights & Wellness (2003-2005). What I discovered during my research was deeply disturbing, and for the last several years I have fought hard to raise awareness of this disease, and increase research into the causes of autism, as well as new treatments for those suffering with autism. I have spoken to many families with autistic children and I know firsthand some of the serious challenges they face on a daily basis.

Dan's Record

Extended Care Health Option Program (ECHO)

Approximately 8,500 children from military families have autism; however, a recent estimate by the Congressional Budget Office showed that only 700 autistic children are currently enrolled in the Extended Care Health Option (ECHO) program due to long waits and limited coverage.

Studies by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the National Research Council show that autistic youth need from 25-40 hours of therapy per week; but ECHO had limit on autistic care only allows for five hours of therapy per week. That was simply unacceptable; and I was proud to support an amendment to the Duncan Hunter National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009 to change this ridiculous policy. The “Sestak Amendment” called upon the Secretary of Defense to ensure that autistic children of members of the armed forces, enrolled in the ECHO program, would be eligible for $5,000 per month of autistic therapy services. During House-Senate Conference Committee negotiations on the bill, an agreement was reached that Representative Sestak’s amendment would be retained; however, the monthly cap on services was replaced with an annual cap of $36,000. The President signed this bill on 10/14/2008.

Thimerosal

Based upon my own research, I believe that the mercury-based preservative thimerosal – contained in 7 of the 9 vaccines that my grandson received in one day shortly before he was diagnosed with autism – may have been a contributing cause of his condition. While serving as Chairman of the House Committee on Government Reform, and Chairman of the Subcommittee on Human Rights & Wellness, I held no fewer than 20 hearings to examine the possible correlation between mercury-containing vaccines and the epidemic of autism in this country. A number of credible national and international scientists testified that mercury in vaccines is a contributing factor in developing neurological disorders, including, but not limited to, modest declines in intelligence quotient (IQ), autism, and Alzheimer’s disease and the body of evidence to support that conclusion gets larger every day.

The bottom line is that mercury is a base element and the most toxic substance known to science outside of radioactive materials; and each new study that comes out showing the toxic effects of mercury on living cells, and each new warning about the dangers of ingesting mercury-laden fish, only reinforce the idea that it is at least biologically plausible for mercury exposure in vaccines to cause the onset of autism. History also shows that, as with any other epidemic, while there may be underlying genetic susceptibilities, there usually is some type of environmental trigger as well, such as exposure to a virus, fungus, heavy metal, or pollutant. There has never, to the best of my knowledge, been a purely genetic epidemic. So, genetics alone cannot explain how we went from 1 in 10,000 children with autism spectrum disorders twenty years ago to 1 in 150 today. Furthermore, this increase happened far too quickly for a genetic shift. Unfortunately, the main stream medical community and many of the so-called experts in our Federal health agencies continue to dismiss the scientific evidence linking thimerosal and autism.

I believe that we need to continue pursuing this question because parents have a right to know what happened to their children regardless of where the truth lies. There is also a larger issue of protecting the public’s health. Several surveys in recent years have indicated that more than half of pediatricians have encountered at least one family that refused all vaccines, while approximately 85 percent have said they had had a parent turn down at least one shot. Vaccines are probably the single-most powerful, cost-effective public health intervention ever developed, and a continued decline in immunization rates could be potentially devastating to the health of our Nation's children.

Combating Autism Act (2006)

Dan's Statement of Support

Hearings on Autism at House Government Reform Committee

Statement at 2000 hearing

Resources

How to file a complaint with the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP)