Obama and Clinton Responses to A-CHAMP Autism Issues Questionnaire

[Guest guest]

Last December A-CHAMP began a campaign to obtain answers from all the

presidential candidates to our autism issues questionnaire. We have received

responses so far from Senators Obama, Clinton, Biden and Dodd. Below are the

responses for Senators Obama and Clinton. We hope this will be useful in helping

voters decide who to vote for in upcoming primaries and caucuses. We will

continue our efforts to get responses for Senator McCain and Governor Huckabee.

The responses below are unedited. Senator Obama's response is presented first

because he returned his answers before Senator Clinton

If this is useful to you please help A-CHAMP in our work. We are 100%

volunteer organization and we survive on the generosity of people like you.

Please click on the link below and sign up for our action alerts and please make

a donation to help us get this important information to you.

http://www.a-champ.org/donate.html

Thank you.

Please vote and please distribute this information widely.

Senator Obama's Response to the A-CHAMP Autism Issues Questionnaire

Will you fully fund the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act?

As a member of the Illinois State Legislature I fought to support special

education and as a U.S. Senator I have continued that fight. As president, I

will fully fund IDEA so that we provide children with the support they need to

receive a free and appropriate education in the least restrictive environment

based upon best practices and with the goal of fully including them in schools

and the community. As the number of children diagnosed with autism spectrum

disorders (ASD) increases, we must ensure that teachers, classrooms and school

districts are prepared to meet their special needs.

Do you believe that the Combating Autism Act provides enough money to find the

cause, or causes, of autism and

effective treatments?

I supported the Combating Autism Act of 2006. It was a good start. As

President I will make sure that money appropriated by Congress for autism

spectrum disorders reaches the organizations and people that they were intended

for. Research is important but it is only one of the steps we need to take.

Americans with ASD should be supported throughout the lifespan. Early diagnosis

and early intervention has been proven to lessen the amount and intensity of

services Americans with ASD need as they grow older. We must appropriate the

funds needed to support all Americans with disabilities. As president, I will go

beyond the Combating Autism Act to develop a comprehensive autism policy that

invests $1 billion annually by the end of my first term in office to address ASD

on all fronts. I will also ensure that all federal efforts to combat ASD are

coordinated through a central Federal ASD Coordinator who will work across

agencies to better coordinate ASD research, awareness,

treatment, and support for families.

How much funding will you request to study potential environmental triggers of

autism?

There is much evidence to suggest that ASD is a genetically-based neurological

condition with environmental triggers. As president, I will lead an effort to

conduct research to confirm these findings and study the potential triggers. We

must find out why many Americans have ASD and other special needs, the causes,

and best treatments and intervention.

Do you believe there is an autism epidemic in the United States ?

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) is the fastest growing developmental disorder

in the United Sates and, perhaps the world.. One in 150 children is diagnosed

with ASD. These numbers can not be explained solely by increased awareness or

changes to the diagnostic criteria. It is a health crisis and I will act

accordingly. There are many Americans with special needs. They will have a

partner in the federal government under my administration.

What will you do to stop health insurers from discriminating against people

with autism and their families?

Many parents and state legislatures have led the fight to prevent medical

insurance companies from delaying and denying coverage to those with ASD,

claiming it as a preexisting condition. Because of this, too many Americans with

special needs and their families have struggled with a crushing financial

burden. Many Americans have tried to do something about this, and I applaud

their efforts. In South Carolina , for example, parents Marcella Ridley and

Lorri Unumb and state senators Lurie (D) and ® led the way

in passing 's Law, which ensured that children with ASD would get the

treatments they need. Of course, after we create universal health care by the

end of my first term as president, all Americans with ASD will have access to

affordable and quality health care, regardless of “preexisting” conditions.

What will you do to assure that health insurers pay for promising new

treatments and behavioral therapy?

As president I will work to create universal health care by the end of my

first term so that all Americans have access to affordable health care. My

health care plan will also improve the quality of care available to Americans

and uphold the principle of mental health parity. I will also work to bring

Americans with ASD, their families and experts together to deal with important

issues, like standardization of treatments, diagnostics, screening, and support

for promising new treatments and therapy.

Do you think vaccines should be investigated as a possible cause of autism?

I believe that the next president must restore confidence and open

communication with the American people. This includes environmental policies and

government funded research. An Obama administration will go where the science

and the facts lead us, whether it is about climate change or toxic heavy metals

in our environment. What will you do to protect Americans, especially young

children and pregnant women, from exposure to mercury through vaccines?

I support the removal of thimerosal from all vaccines and work to ensure that

Americans have access to vaccines that are mercury free.

What will you do to provide for the lifetime care that 250,000 to 500,000

current children with autism will need in the future?

ASD is not just a medical issue nor a children's issue. ASD affects behavior,

communication and socialization and means that Americans with ASD will have a

lifetime struggle to fully integrate within the community. However, the nation

must also work to recognize the valued role that Americans with special needs

have within our communities. Americans with special needs must be supported

throughout their lifetimes. As President, I will work with the special needs

community to ensure that those with ASD acquire the skills and education they

need, achieve to their fullest capabilities and live the independent life of a

full citizen in their community. I will support programs that create

opportunities, improve the quality of life and maximize potential for all

individuals with ASD and their families.

Would you support a large-scale federal study of the differences in health

outcomes between vaccinated and unvaccinated groups?

Experience has taught that effective medical research must be " large-scale "

and well funded. I believe Americans should know must know the health effects

that caused by the presence of mercury in vaccines. I will also support an

examination of the National Vaccine Injury Compensation program, a program

designed to compensate those injured by vaccinations.

Would you support a federal right for families and individuals to choose for

themselves which vaccines they will use?

I support screening for a wide variety of diseases and disorders. Early

diagnosis and early intervention are the best practice for most illnesses. I

believe that every American has the right to access these screenings, and I

believe that every American has the right also to refuse these screenings

voluntarily if they so choose. I also support a thorough and independent review

of our nation’s vaccination policies.

Are you satisfied that the federal vaccine approval process is free of

conflicts of interests, transparent and rigorous?

As President, I will conduct a thorough examination of all federal programs to

ensure that they are effective and operating in the best interests of the

American people. And I will ensure that sound and unbiased science, not

ideology, guides decisions made in my administration.

Senator Clinton’s response to the A_CHAMP Presidential Candidate’s

Questionnaire

Will you fully fund the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act?

Yes. I support fully funding the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

Among my many efforts to fully fund IDEA, I co-sponsored the IDEA Full-Funding

Act of2003 to finally fulfill the federal government's long-standing promise to

provide for 40 percent of the average per pupil expenditure for each and every

child with a disability. In 2005, I offered an amendment to provide $4 billion

in additional funding for IDEA; the amendment failed by a narrow margin. I have

been an advocate for people with disabilities throughout my career in public

service. After graduating from law school in 1973, I went to work for n

Edelman at the Children's Defense Fund, walking door to door in New

Bedford , Mass. , to figure out why there were discrepancies between the number

of school-age children and the number of children enrolled in school. What I

discovered was heartbreaking - kids were kept out of school because of their

physical disabilities. We submitted our findings

to Congress and our study helped lay the groundwork for the Individuals with

Disabilities Education Act, which mandated that children with physical,

emotional, and learning disabilities receive a free, appropriate public

education. As a Senator, I helped write the IDEA Reauthorization Act in 2004 in

order to ensure that we have targeted resources dedicated to teacher training.

As President, I will continue my fight on behalf of children with disabilities.

Do you believe that the Combating Autism Act provides enough money to find the

cause, or causes, of autism and effective treatments?

A key aspect of my plan to address autism, which I unveiled in November, is to

fully fund the Combating Autism Act, which the Bush administration has failed to

do. Through this legislation, we can work to identify the causes of autism;

provide funds for surveillance; and increase autism education, early detection,

and intervention. As President, I will double investments in the National

Institutes of Health's efforts to identify the causes of autism, including

possible environmental causes. I will expand the Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention's Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network and I will

create Centers of Excellence in Autism Spectrum