U.S. Rep. Mike Doyle, a Democrat representing Pittsburgh and part of Allegheny County, and a Republican colleague have introduced a bill to reauthorize federal programs supporting people with autism and their families.

The Autism CARES Act, introduced Feb. 7, would reauthorize a similar bill approved in 2014 and which was also sponsored by Doyle, D-18, Forest Hills, and U.S. Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J. It has been referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, which Doyle sits on.

A reauthorized bill would direct more than $1 billion in funding over a five-year period for autism programs at the National Institutes of Health, for expansion and coordination of autism-related activities; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, for developmental disability surveillance and research; and the Health Resources and Services Administration, for education, early detection and intervention.

“We’ve made significant progress over the last 20 years, but we are still far behind where we would like to be and where individuals and families need us to be,” Doyle said in a joint statement.

Besides the research and education components, Smith said the bill will “ensure that the estimated 50,000 persons with autism each year who ‘age out’ of critical assistance programs and enter adulthood are supported, as many individuals and communities are unprepared for this transition.”

The congressmen said the bill has the support of several autism and disability groups, including Autism Speaks, the Autism Society of America, the Association of University Centers on Disabilities, the American Academy of Pediatrics and Autism NJ.

A companion bill was introduced in the Senate on Feb. 7 by Sens. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., and Michael Enzi, R-Wyo. That bill has been referred to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.