Diary Prequel Package — page 34

September 17 - 20 , 2001 - I have been called to several top secret meetings over a 4 days period at the White House with the National Security Council (NSC) in a group chaired by Richard Falkenrath (see other notes) to discuss short and long range plans for how to handle a bioterrorism attack, particularly one of smallpox. Also, several meeting in top secret format were held at DHHS in the Humphrey Building. People at the DHHS meetings include Stewart Simonson (Chief of Staff to Claude Allan), Scott Lillibridge, Claude Allan (deputy Secretary), Tom Month of Acambis company that is making smallpox vaccine, D.A. Henderson (Hopkins), Kathy Zoon (FDA), Ann Agnew (Exec Sec. OD/DHHS, John La Montagne (NIAID), James Meegan (NIAID), Bill Raub (DHHS), and others. Check files. At the White House (Chaired by Richard Falkenrath, Deputy to Condi Rice) there was Avis Bohlen (State), J.D. Crouch (Defense), Kenneth Justice )Commerce, Kathy Zoon (FDA), John La Montagne (NIAID), Bill Steiger (DHHS), Don Mahley (State), Michael Chertoff (Justice), General John Parker (Defense), Peter Jahrlin (Defense) and others. Check with John La Montagne and other notes. We discussed and provided 'White Papers" a) to justify our not agreeing to the renewal of the 1992 Bioweapons Convention because it is un enforcible and would also hinder our legitimate scientists workiing on biomedical research on these organisms. b) justification for not destroying the smallpox stores since we need them to do research to counter effects of a smallpox terrorism attack with diagnostics, vaccines, and therapy.c) Short and long range plans for countering an immediate or distant bioterrorism attack. September 17, 2001 - While I was at DHHS for the smallpox meetings, Secretary Thompson called me in his office and said that although he had said that he would not ask me again to be NIH Director unless I brought it up, he said that he had to do so now since "...the country needs me, particularly during these stressful times. I want you very much and President Bush wants me very much". Although I had been resisting this for months (and years) (see above), I felt that I could not refuse this call to duty. Thompson said to name my conditions. I wrote them down and deliver them to him the next day on Sept. 18. The conditions were: 1) Dual roles as NIH Director and NIAID Director; 2) Additional staff; 3) Direct access to him; 4) Good faith discussions regarding plans that he has to do administrative restructuring (centralizing) at NIH OD and away from the individual institutes such as budget, human resources, etc. I felt that particularly budget and to a lesser extent HR centralization would not work; 5) $300,000.00 salary ; 6) Continue to do editing with royalties (especially HPIM) and remain on Board of Trustees of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. The Secretary agreed on all of these except he decreased the salary number to $295,000.00. I told him that I accept the offer. He will send all of this to the White House to clear that they also accept these conditions. I do not expect anything to happen soon given that we are headed to war and likely additional terrorist attacks. September 24, 2001 - Yet another visit to the White House, this time to review the final document on Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) Alternative Concepts. We agreed on the document to be sent forward to Condoleezza White and Colin Powell.(see hard copy files). Attending the meeting were: Robert Joseph (WH), Avis Bohlen (State), J,D, Crouch (DOD), Kenneth Juster (Commerce), Claude Allen (DHHS), Tony Fauci (NIH),