s a committee, we are pleased to be able to provide the readers of this issue of the ASA NEWSLETTER with information and opinions from various CGA members. You will be provided information on the history of the CGA and its governmental involvement. There will also be information about several issues facing the committee, our specialty and our medical profession. You will be provided information on our Lansdale Public Policy Fellowship as well (page 17). You will learn from the pro/con debate on pay for performance (page 19). And the resident perspective on involvement in governmental affairs will be shared (page 41).

After learning about both the past and the present activities of the CGA, one must ask, what is its future? As this issue of the NEWSLETTER goes to press, the CGA is in the process of preparing for a strategic planning retreat in June. The purpose of this retreat will be for our committee to take into consideration our committee history, as well as our present issues, and plan how we, as a committee, can best serve our members, ASA, our specialty and our profession in the future. This will mean revisiting our committee charge, relative to the current ASA bylaws. We will be updating our mission statement and future goals and objectives. The organizational structure of our committee will be delineated. In terms of our projects, the majority of our efforts will be spent working on our grassroots key contact program for both federal and state issues. The CGA also is involved in many other areas, all of which will be reviewed, including, but not limited to, involvement with the annual Legislative Conference, our Washington, D.C., office, and the selection of our Excellence in Government Award and our Lansdale Public Policy Fellow.

We would like to thank the Washington Office staff for all of their help. A special thank-you goes out as well to our committee members and other ASA members for what you do each and every day to ensure the safety of our patients and the viability of our specialty and our profession! With all this being said, I hope that you will agree that the CGA is a Committee that is Getting Active!

Jane C.K. Fitch, M.D., is John L. Plewes Professor and Chair, Department of Anesthesiology, University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.