Fauci Awards Package (Redacted) — page 21

Tony, I certainly understand your frustration about the time that it has taken to reach decisions on a number of awards that have been pending for too long. I too am frustrated because my goal is to support you in the strongest possible way. I had extensive discussions with Holli Friday, and as we unpacked things, I realized that more progress has been made than I was aware of. Here is the current status of each award: First the good news: Partnership for Public Service's Service to America Award - approved. Smithsonian Institution's Great American Medal Gold Medal - approved. The Dan David Prize - Holli raised this prize with Gretchen (HHS OGC) yesterday and Gretchen shared that the Dan David Prize was reviewed in 2011 and it was determined to meet the regulatory requirements. We need to confirm that certain aspects of the award have not changed since 2011 - Holli's quick review of website does not show any changes - and then most likely, you will be able to receive the cash prize. Please forward to Holli the letter notifying you of your selection, and any other written materials you receive from Dan David as soon as you receive them. CDC Foundation's Fries Prize - this package is complete and will be transmitted to HHS OGC for final review on Monday. We expect a quick approval. As you may know, Harvey Alter received this prize in 2015 and he was approved to accept the cash prize. AAAS' Philip Abelson Prize - HHS OGC reviewed the package and requested that we ask AAAS for additional information. Our request for the supplemental documentation is pending with AAAS. We will remind AAAS of this need this week, and I remain hopeful that this award will ultimately be approved. It will, however, take more time to get a final decision. Next, the unknown: NAM's Gustov Lienhard Award - this is the most challenging package. After receiving additional information from NAM (I personally made the request to Victor in November), the completed package was submitted to HHS OGC in December. They determined that you cannot receive the cash prize based on a broad reading of an applicable regulation. We propose to appeal that interpretation to the US Office of Government Ethics (OGE) but we have arrived at a strategy that we think maximizes our chance at succeeding. We think our argument is reasonable, but the USG OGE still may reject it if they take a more conservative approach. If they do, we have no other recourse. In addition, the USG OGE is neck deep in vetting appointments for the new administration and once it gets to USG OGE it may get hung up for some time. So to get "two turns at bat", we are first trying to convince the acting HHS OGC DAEO, Randy Hall, who serves as the HHS' subject matter expert and is the POC for the USG OGE, to agree to our interpretation. If he does it won't have to go to the USG OGE. If he doesn't, we can still appeal directly to the USG OGE as a final attempt. Now the bad news: Vanderbilt University's Nichols-Chancellor Medal and GA Institute of Technology's Ivan Allen Jr. Prize for Social Courage - unfortunately, you will not be able to accept the cash prizes associated with either of these awards because both award sponsors (Vanderbilt and GA Tech) are NIAID grantees. We did consider asking for an exception for these awards; however, neither award appears to comport with the exception for awards which "confer an exceptionally high honor in the fields of medicine or scientific research." Vanderbilt's Nichols-Chancellor's Medal is awarded "to those persons who define the 21st century and exemplify the best qualities of the human spirit." Previous winners were Caroline Kennedy, Venus Williams, Amal Clooney and Ken Burns. GA Tech's Ivan Allen Jr. Prize for Social Courage "shines a light on those around the world who bravely act to improve the human condition, often in the face of seemingly insurmountable challenges." Previous winners were Hamilton E. Homes and Charlayne Hunter-Gault, Andrew Young and Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter As neither award focuses on achievements in medicine or scientific research we must unfortunately deny the request to accept these awards' cash prizes. As you know you can accept the honor of being these awards' 2021 recipients, and I understand that you are proceeding along those lines. Also, the award sponsors may donate the cash prizes in your honor to charities of their choosing. I understand GA Tech is proceeding with such a designation and we will inform Vanderbilt of that option. Holli plays the seminal role in assembling of the award packages, drafting follow-up correspondence with the award sponsors, and legal discussions with OGC. She will continue to monitor the developments with respect to each package