Congressional Briefing on CFS this Week

The CFIDS Association, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) and other members of the Senate are hosting a congressional briefing about CFS on May 8. The briefing will feature a panel of CFS experts discussing current research highlights and opportunities to shape funding requests and agency directives.

Harvard professor Anthony Komaroff, MD, will discuss recent CFS research findings and promising avenues of future investigation. Respected CFS physician Lucinda Bateman, MD, will discuss challenges in patient care and areas where improvements in health care information and education about CFS are needed.

Peabody Award-winning journalist Scott Simon, host of NPR’s Weekend Edition, will speak about the personal impact of CFS from his perspective as a close friend of acclaimed author Laura Hillenbrand, who has had the illness since 1987.

The intent of the briefing is to educate legislators and their staffers about CFS and to emphasize the burden of illness CFS imposes, its high prevalence and economic impact ($25 billion a year), the degree of disability (compared to MS, AIDS and COPD) and the insufficient federal investment in research compared to conditions with similar impact. 

The briefing is being followed by visits to House members to lobby further for increased funding for CFS research, better health policy and more accountability by federal health agencies.
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Make Your Voice Heard!

Join with thousands of advocates taking action to build a stronger federal response to CFS through the CFIDS Association of America’s 5th annual Virtual Lobby Day. In 30 minutes or less, you can write to your U.S. senators, the secretary of health, your representative in the House of Representatives, CDC Director Dr. Julie Gerberding and NIH Director Dr. Elias Zerhouni.

Last year, more than 6,000 messages were sent by Virtual Lobby Day participants. Working together, we can greatly exceed that count and demonstrate even more support to legislators, policymakers and the media for increased attention to CFS. Five easy-to-complete activities are now available at http://capwiz.com/cfids/home/.

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The CFIDS Association fights for the rights of people with CFS and their families by advocating for more research and better public policy. Your donations make this work possible.

If you care about making CFS a national priority with lawmakers and health officials, please donate now.