CFIDS Lobby Day will be moved from March to September 17-18, 2003. This decision was made in light of reports from Capitol Hill that Congress is unlikely to finalize its subcommittee structure until late February and will not tackle funding bills for 2004 until this summer.

As a result of these unusual delays, The CFIDS Association and its lobbying firm, The Sheridan Group, have decided to reschedule the annual Lobby Day event to September, after Congress returns from its summer recess and is expected to focus on writing legislation to fund federal health programs for 2004. Hopefully the September dates will free us from weather-related issues associated with March dates (possible cold and snow) or summer dates (certain heat and humidity) that impose an extra barrier for many CFIDS patients.

We apologize that our plans changed after the information about Lobby Day was sent to you by e-mail last week. We will post new registration materials on our Web site and notify you by e-mail once they are available. If you have already submitted registration materials for the previously announced March dates, we will ask you to submit the revised registration form for the September dates this summer.

Thank you, as always, for your support of CFIDS advocacy and awareness and of The CFIDS Association of America.

Vicki Walker
Research & Public Policy Project Manager
The CFIDS Association of America