Subject: An Invitation
From: "Daschle, Tom" <[email-masked]>
To: "[email-masked]" <[email-masked]>
Cc: "Rodriguez, Ilia" <[email-masked]>, "Selby, Caroline" <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 12 Jan 2016 21:29:07 +0000

Dear John,

We hope this note finds you well.  I’m sure things are very busy for you right now!

Former Congressman Mike Rogers and I invite you to join us for a salon dinner discussion on biodefense on February 22nd at 6:00 pm at the Cosmos Club in Washington D.C.      As you know, biosecurity is an issue that I had the unfortunate experience of dealing with first hand when anthrax was sent to my Senate office.  However, even with the anthrax attacks that took place in 2001, and the Ebola outbreak in 2014, biodefense isn’t being as seriously considered as I believe it should be.

Mike, as I am sure you know, during his time in office was the Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee and a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.  Mike built a legacy as a tireless and effective leader on biodefense, counterterrorism and national security policy. Mike currently hosts a nationally-syndicated radio show, is a CNN national security commentator, a Distinguished Fellow at the Hudson Institute and serves on the Board of Trustees at the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress.

Last year, I had the privilege of serving on the Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense led by Governor Ridge and Senator Lieberman. Mike briefed the panel and informed our final recommendations.  Now that that the panel’s report has been released, we believe we have an opportunity to elevate the political prioritization of biodefense and preparedness, as well as advance near and mid-term changes to address the challenges and gaps we continue to face.

Mike and I would like to bring together a small group of thought leaders, such as yourself, for an informal discussion.  Ideally, we would like to build on the discussion that the Blue Ribbon Panel Study began, and identify some actionable priorities. In the end, we hope to use the ideas gathered during the dinner discussion to develop both short-term and mid-term strategies for increasing political interest in improving our national health security.

Given your experience and expertise in these areas, Mike and I are hopeful that you will be able to join us.

If you have any questions or would like to RSVP, please contact Caroline Selby [email-masked]<mailto:[email-masked]> or at 202-508-3449.

All the best,

Tom Daschle
Former US Senate Majority Leader

Mike Rogers
Former Chairman, Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence

________________________________

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