Autism Insurance Reform
On July 1, 2012, California SBp46 will officially becomes law making us the 28 state to have insurance reform. In 2009, before massive lobbying and grass roots heroism, we would have been the 21st state had legislation been approved. Please contact our office to find out about how reform affects your state. Ms. Segal is a District Captain for Autism Votes and has this to say: There is concern that insurance reform may not include all intervention alternatives and the definition of autism and spectrum disorders is undergoing revision. Check back to see the updated language or how to post comment RIGHT NOW! [May 1, 2012]
From: senator@feinstein.senate.gov [mailto:senator@feinstein.senate.gov]
Sent: Tuesday, December 02, 2008 1:56 PM
To: melanie@melaniesegal.com
Subject: U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein responding to your message
Dear Ms. Segal:
Thank you for contacting me to express your support for autism research funding in the National Defense Appropriations Act for fiscal year 2009. I appreciate hearing from you and welcome the opportunity to respond.
Autism afflicts over a million Americans, many of whom are children, and I share your strong commitment to improving our understanding of and response to this disorder. Since coming to the Senate, I have strongly supported funding for biomedical research at the National Institutes of Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and through the Department of Defense’s Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs. I believe these efforts hold tremendous promise to produce new treatments and possible cures for a myriad of conditions and diseases, including autism.
On September 25, 2008, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Senator Robert Byrd (D-WV) introduced the Consolidated Security, Disaster Assistance, and Continuing Appropriations Act, which is an economic recovery package. This bill includes $8 million for autism research funding at the Department of Defense. I am pleased to inform you that this bill was signed by the President and became law (P.L. 110-329) on September 30, 2008.
Again, thank you for writing. If you have any further questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact my Washington, D.C. office at (202) 224-3841. Best regards.
Sincerely yours,
Dianne Feinstein
United States Senator
Further information about my position on issues of concern to California and the Nation are available at my website http://feinstein.senate.gov/public/. You can also receive electronic e-mail updates by subscribing to my e-mail list at http://feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=ENewsletterSignup.Signup.
From: Congressman Henry A. Waxman [mailto:ca30hima.pub@mail.house.gov]
Sent: Tuesday, December 30, 2008 7:23 AM
To: melanie@melaniesegal.com
Subject: Re. your recent message
December 30, 2008
Ms. Melanie Segal
9107 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 450
Beverly Hills, California 90210-5535
Dear Ms. Segal:
Thank you for contacting me earlier this year to share your
support for an appropriations request for the DoD Autism
Spectrum Disorders Research Program (DoDASDRP) in the Fiscal
Year 2009 Defense Appropriations bill. I wanted to update you on
the status of this request.
The Fiscal Year 2009 Department of Defense
Appropriations Bill was included in Public Law 110-329, which
was enacted on September 30th, 2008. P.L. 110-329 includes $8
million for the DoDASDRP, a 25 percent increase over the
previous year’s funding. I appreciate your contacting me about this
program and will keep your support in mind in the future.
To learn more about my work in Congress or sign up for
periodic e-mail updates, please visit my website at
Again, thank you for contacting me and I hope you will
continue to keep in touch on issues of concern.
With kind regards, I am
Sincerely,
Henry A. Waxman
Member of Congress.