In-person Congress of Delegates Canceled

Delegates will still make some decisions about Academy policy-making issues, however. All members are invited to guide these decisions by registering by Jan. 12 to take part in reference committees that will meet virtually Jan. 22-23. Delegates will then consider which issues should be put aside for more discussion later.

“By pursuing this course of action,” Speaker Russell Kohl, M.D., and Vice Speaker Daron Gersch, M.D., wrote to delegates, alternates and chapter presidents on Jan. 6, “we are able to accommodate the concerns with an in-person meeting in February, ensure that our members’ voices are heard, enact those items we agree upon, discuss contentious issues at our next in-person meeting, and free up our members to provide the ongoing care their communities urgently need during the pandemic.”

Under AAFP Bylaws, it was too late to transition to a virtual Congress when the Board of Directors canceled the meeting. Instead, delegates will follow this process:

• Reference committees will meet virtually Jan. 22-23 to discuss resolutions that have been submitted by chapters. Members can read them on the 2021 Resolutions webpage, and those who register can testify about them during the committee hearings. The hearing schedule is available online.
• Delegates will review the reference committee reports by Feb. 3 and identify issues they want to be pulled for later discussion.
• For all items that are not pulled, Kohl, the 2021 COD speaker, will declare them approved through the unanimous consent of delegates.
• Resolutions that are held will be slated for discussion at the next in-person Congress.

If the Board must urgently address an issue related to a held resolution before the next Congress, discussions from the virtual reference committees will serve as a guide.

Visit AAFP News in February for information about action on resolutions.