Friday, September 27, 2013

Had great typical dinner with Wayne and Catherine Reynolds at the Jefferson Hotel. Intimate setting with about 20 people at dinner – Rick Atkinson and wife Jane (Rick is strongly encouraging me to get going in writing my book); Gen. James Jones and wife; Gen. Colin Powell and Alma Powell; John Rogers (Goldman Sachs and wife Deborah Lehr); Ben Carson and wife Candy; journalist Dana Priest; Steve Rosenberg and wife Alice, among others. Stimulating conversation regard imminent shutting down of the USG due to stalemate on budget between Republicans (who want to defund Obamacare) and Democrats (who want a clean bill to keep government going on a CR without touching Obamacare). Difficult to predict what will happen on Monday (Sept. 30) at midnight, when the current fiscal year ends. During dinner varied discussion. I spoke passionately about the stupidity of across the board cuts in Biomedical research as part of the sequester and how this will damage our standing as the world leader in biomedical research. Sept. 28-30, 2013 – Threat of US government shutdown due to impasse in discussions between Republicans (Speaker Boehner – driven by T Party extremists) and Democrats (POTUS and Sen. Leader Harry Reid). GOP wants to negotiate defunding Obamacare or at least modifying (delaying) individual mandate before they pass a CR to keep government open after Sept. 30. POTUS refused to negotiate “with a gun to my head”. He says: “pass CR and then we negotiate; also raise debt limit without conditions”. I have prepared a video tape of my Opening Keynote for the Barcelona AIDS Vaccine meeting on Oct. 7 in preparation for possibility that I will not be able to travel to Spain. Rule is that if USG shuts down, then no USG employee travels.