Government Funds: Helping or Hurting Research?

Big money and politics now. The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill today to spend some $1 billion on finding a cure for autism. The Senate is expected to pass the measure this week and send it on to President Bush. It's good news for advocates of autism research--but then again maybe not. Especially at this time of year.

CNBC's Mike Huckman reported the story on "Street Signs." He said that increased government funds for medical research--might cut down on the amount of charitable money people give to medical research. And at this time of year--tax payers are looking at deductions--and charitable giving is usually high on the list. And Huckman also said there's still a battle over whether the government should be funding medical research at all.

FYI:1 out 166 kids in the U.S. suffer from autism.