President Bush signs 3 health-related bills

Autism is diagnosed in one in 166 children.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush signed bills Tuesday to raise federal funding for autism, shift AIDS money to rural areas and the South and create a government unit to oversee response to a bird flu pandemic or bioterrorism attack.
The autism bill increases federal funding by 50 percent for the disorder, which afflicts 1.5 million people in the United States.
Congress voted Dec. 7 to significantly increase federal funding to identify the cause of autism, now diagnosed in one in 166 children. The Senate, acting a day after House passage, approved on a voice vote legislation that authorizes 945 million over five years for autism research, screening and treatment.
The legislation provides the National Institutes of Health with a list of possible research areas related to autism spectrum disorder, including an examination of whether the increase in autism diagnoses is caused by environmental factors.
"By creating a national education program for doctors and the public about autism, this legislation will help more people recognize the symptoms of autism," Bush said in a statement. "This will lead to early identification and intervention, which is critical for children with autism."
Other legislation
The AIDS legislation Bush signed will shift care and treatment money to rural areas and the South.
The House on Dec. 9 agreed by voice vote to renew the 2.1 billion-annual Ryan White CARE Act. The Senate passed the bill earlier after senators from New York and New Jersey dropped their opposition, accepting a compromise that settled months of dispute just as Congress adjourned for the year.
Lawmakers from some urban areas feared losing money under a five-year renewal of the law. The final deal renews it for three years. That allows earlier reviews of the formulas for distributing money and eliminates the large dollar cuts in the final years that threatened some areas.
The president also signed a bill to create a new agency within the Health and Human Services Department to oversee the development of medicine and equipment to respond to a bird flu pandemic or a bioterrorism attack.
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