New VLD Action: Urgent Request! 
Congressional Letter to Dr. Zerhouni 

Take Action!

 
On May 15, participants in the CFIDS Association's Lobby Day helped circulate a letter sponsored by 3 members of Congress to Dr. Elias Zerhouni, Director of the NIH. The letter, viewable at http://www.cfids.org/advocacy/zerhouni.pdf, requests that Dr. Zerhouni use his discretion under the 2006 NIH Reform Act to make CFS a higher research priority. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) is leading the letter on the Senate side. Representative Janice Schakowsky (D-IL-9) and Representative Sue Myrick (R-NC-9) are leading the letter in the House of Representatives.

Please write to your members of Congress and ask them to sign on to the letter. The language of the letter is specifically written to avoid congressional reluctance to earmark funds for specific diseases, but appeals to new powers granted by Congress to the NIH director to make special funding provision for conditions like CFS that cross traditional institutional boundaries at the NIH.

We are working hard to maximize support for this letter and need your help to secure the greatest number of signatures possible. Thank you for adding this Virtual Lobby Day action (#6) to your "to-do" list!