The U.S. Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee has updated its strategic plan to call for a doubling of government and private autism research spending by the year 2020. The IACC would like to see $685 million spent on research by 2020. The committee recommended that the additional funds be used for research that would improve early diagnosis and intervention, increase knowledge about autism in girls and women, reduce the effects of physical and mental health conditions that affect people with autism, and improve services for adults, among other things.

Dr. Paul H. Lipkin, director of the Interactive Autism Network at Kennedy Krieger Institute, served on the Infrastructure working group for IACC, an advisory group.

Decisions about government spending are made by Congress, the President, and federal agencies.