The Congressional Autism Caucus, formally the Coalition for Autism Research and Education (CARE), is a bipartisan, bicameral group of lawmakers who work together to advance federal policy on autism spectrum disorder. It pushes for research funding, access to services from early childhood through adulthood, and employment and community inclusion for autistic people. Its most visible product is the Autism CARES Act, a law it has helped reauthorize repeatedly since 2006.
What the Caucus Focuses On
The caucus concentrates on three things: increasing federal funding for autism research, ensuring access to services across the lifespan, and promoting inclusion through employment and community acceptance. Those priorities translate into specific bills, briefings, and pressure on appropriations committees to sustain or grow funding lines at the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Health Resources and Services Administration.
A recurring theme is the transition to adulthood. When an autistic person ages out of the school system, the supports they relied on often disappear, and the shift to vocational, residential, and community-based services is one of the largest gaps in the current system. The caucus has treated closing that gap as a standing priority rather than a one-time issue.
Who Leads the Caucus
Representative Chris Smith (R-NJ) co-founded the caucus and has co-chaired it for more than two decades. His congressional biography credits him with 23 years of involvement, making him one of the longest-serving autism legislators in Congress.1U.S. Representative Chris Smith. Biography Representative Henry Cuellar (D-TX) is the Democratic co-chair, a role he took on after Representative Mike Doyle retired at the end of 2022.2Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick Drives Bipartisan Action to Support Caregivers and Families of Children with Autism
Membership is open to any sitting Representative or Senator, and the caucus has historically included well over 100 members. Numbers matter here. A caucus with a handful of members can raise awareness; one with more than a hundred can generate enough co-sponsors to move a bill through committee and onto the floor. The bipartisan structure also insulates autism policy from the sharpest partisan fights, because both co-chairs have political reason to deliver results.
How the Caucus Works Day to Day
The caucus runs educational briefings where members and their staff hear directly from federal agency officials, researchers, and advocacy leaders. Staffers who draft legislation and negotiate appropriations often know surprisingly little about the practical realities of autism services, and the briefings close that gap. Experts from the NIH and CDC present prevalence data, intervention research, and program evaluations that shape how lawmakers set funding priorities.
Beyond briefings, the caucus hosts stakeholder roundtables that bring together autistic adults, family caregivers, service providers, and researchers. The point is to make sure legislative language reflects what people actually need instead of what sounds good in a press release.
What the Caucus Has Passed
The caucus’s biggest legislative legacy traces back to the Combating Autism Act of 2006, which established the federal government’s role in autism research and services. That law created a national education program for doctors and the public to improve recognition of autism symptoms and increased federal support for research and treatment.3George W. Bush White House Archives. Fact Sheet: Combating Autism Act of 2006
Congress reauthorized and expanded the law in 2011 and again in 2014, when it was renamed the Autism Collaboration, Accountability, Research, Education, and Support (Autism CARES) Act. The 2014 version required a report to Congress on the state of services for autistic adults, reflecting the caucus’s push to move policy beyond a childhood-only focus. Each reauthorization has expanded the scope of funded programs and refined how the federal government handles autism surveillance, training, and service delivery.
The Autism CARES Act of 2024
The most recent reauthorization, the Autism CARES Act of 2024, was signed into law on December 23, 2024, as Public Law 118-180.4Congress.gov. H.R.7213 – 118th Congress (2023-2024): Autism CARES Act of 2024 It authorizes nearly $2 billion over five years for programs at the NIH, CDC, and HRSA. That money funds specialized training for healthcare professionals who diagnose and treat autism, sustains research into causes and interventions, and maintains the surveillance programs that track prevalence nationally.
Getting this over the finish line mattered. Reauthorization bills often stall for years when they aren’t attached to must-pass legislation, and the caucus’s bipartisan credibility helped keep momentum through a turbulent 118th Congress. Representative Smith called the passage a major win for the autism community and noted that the law extends critical programs for another five years.5U.S. Representative Chris Smith. Congress Approves Extension of Autism CARES Act
The Autism Family Caregivers Act of 2025
The caucus is currently backing the Autism Family Caregivers Act of 2025 (H.R. 4086), which would create a five-year pilot program of competitive grants to organizations that deliver evidence-based caregiver skills training.6Congress.gov. H.R.4086 – Autism Family Caregivers Act of 2025 The bill authorizes $10 million per year for fiscal years 2026 through 2030, with each grant worth at least $500,000 over the five-year period.
The training covers communication skills, social engagement, daily living skills, strategies for responding to challenging behaviors, and coping and self-care for caregivers. Participation would be free for families. The bill requires grants to reach at least 25 organizations in no fewer than 15 states, a provision designed to ensure geographic diversity rather than concentrating resources in a few well-funded urban centers.
Why the Caucus Exists
The CDC’s most recent surveillance data, published in 2025 based on 2022 monitoring, identifies about 1 in 31 eight-year-old children (3.2%) with autism spectrum disorder across the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network.7Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC Community Report on Autism 2025 That figure has risen steadily over the past two decades. More identified individuals means more demand for services, research, and policy attention.
Autism policy also touches nearly every federal agency and committee jurisdiction. Research funding runs through NIH. Surveillance runs through CDC. Service delivery involves HRSA, the Department of Education, the Social Security Administration, and the Department of Labor. Without a dedicated group of lawmakers keeping those threads connected, autism policy tends to fragment: individual bills get introduced, sit in committee, and expire. The caucus provides the continuity and cross-agency perspective that keeps major legislation moving, and its track record of reauthorizing the CARES Act across multiple Congresses is the clearest evidence that the model works.