August Deadlines and Opportunities for Advocacy

Reprinted with the kind permission of Jennie Spotila and Occupy CFS.

By Jennie Spotila

There are a number of opportunities for ME/CFS advocacy right now – all of which you can do on your own from home! Here are the details:

CFS Advisory Committee Public Comment: The Federal Register notice for the August 18-19th meeting has been published.

• Registration to attend in person is different this time! You must download a form on the CFSAC website (although it’s not available yet) and email it to CFSACmtg@hhs.gov. Registration for attendance closes August 13th.

• Public comment registration is required to comment in person or by phone. Request a slot by emailing CFSACmtg@hhs.gov. Comments are limited to three minutes in length, and registration closes August 10th.

• Written public comment can be submitted, whether you have a speaking slot or not. Comments should be no longer than 5 single spaced pages using 12pt font, and should be in MS Word format. Email your comments to CFSACmtg@hhs.gov by August 13th for inclusion in the public record.

NIH Strategic Plan: Public comment is due August 16th. I‘ve posted details about the plan and my own comments.

Key States Targeted for NIH Funding Petition: MEAction is looking for advocates in twenty-two key states to participate in targeted advocacy with Congress. Even if you don’t live in one of those states, you can still sign the petition.

More advocacy actions will be launched in the near future, so stay tuned HERE.