Diary Prequel Package — page 166

Dec. 14 - 19, 2007 - Series of the usual (now becoming enjoyable since I remember names after seeing them so often) holiday parties, mostly centered around NCS/STA. Weather unusually mild. Looking forward to Jenny and Megan coming home Dec. 20, 2007 - Meeting (pre-PCC) at EEOB run by Mike Magan of NSC and Bob Kadlec of HSC to flesh out possibility of putting together a major POTUS initiative on "Control or Elimination of Tuberculosis" to announce at the State of the Union Address in Jan. 2008. After having various agencies present a totality of a program that would cost billions, it was decided that since there really will not be any new money, or if there was, it would be very little, we should focus on the well-circumscribed topic of TB Vaccine research. I was tasked to do this and to write language for the State of the Union Address. In my proposal, I presented the case that this would cost relatively little. NIH spends $150 million in 2007 on TB research ($120 M is NIAID). Of this $20 million is on TB Vaccine Research - this is about 25% of world's TB vaccine research spending with Gates spending about 45% (they spend most of their TB money on vaccine). The Global Plan to Stop TB - 2006-2015 calls for $184 million in 2009 (the FY that we are talking about). If we tripled our spending by adding $40 million to the $20 million, this would give $60 million. Right before the meeting Rajeev Venkayya (who left HSC and will be joining Gates) called and e-mailed me saying that he has arranged a call between Secr. Leavitt and Tachi Yamada from Gates to agree that Bill Gates, Jr. will commit to a significant increase in Gates funding for TB if the USG puts up more money. I have submitted a proposal for a $40 million increase for FY 2009 and I have included language for the Address. Let us hope that this flies. Then I will have had impact on PEPFAR, the President's Malaria Initiative (PMI) and now the TB initiative. Dec. 22, 2007 - Has breakfast at Panera in Chevy Chase with Terry Lierman who is now Chief-of -Staff to House leader Steny Hoyer (an old friend). We discussed the usual politics and I mentioned that the only job that I would take in a new administration is Secretary of HHS. Terry said that everyone knows in the democratic party that I am most qualified, but that I have "a Bush problem" in that I am too closely associated over the years with the Bush's. Such is Life; I am not at all upset about this since who knows what will happen and besides, I do not covet the job. Dec. 23-27, 2007 - Discovered that Megan has an 8 mm left ovarian cyst - likely a dermoid that needs to come out for fear of torsion/twisting since it is so big. She is seen by Mark Reiter's group and Mark is arranging to have it removed on Dec. 31 laparoscopically by a woman in his practice. He will assist. He is giving her the VIP treatment, but I know too little about the laparoscopic skill of the people in his practice. I do not want to upset the apple-cart, but ordinarily I would get David Jacobs involved; yet I do not want to interfere with the natural flow. David would probably insist that someone else outside that practice do the procedure. Mark wants to be in charge since he delivered Megan and feels a strong responsibility to her. I am conflicted and will hope for the best.