Heidi Alexander: “knowing there is a reception coming, I will try to set a good example. After hearing a speech, my late friend Alex…”

“knowing there is a reception coming, I will try to set a good example. After hearing a speech, my late friend Alex Haley, the author of ``Roots,'' said: May I make a suggestion? I said: Well, yes. He said: If, when you make a speech, you would say ``Instead of making a speech, let me tell you a story,'' someone might actually listen to what you have to say. I have always remembered that, so let me tell one short story about a Vice President who knows how to get things done. Nearly 2 years ago, you and President Obama invited Senator Corker and me to go with you to Knoxville when the President announced his community college program. Before that, we had lunch privately, and we talked about many things, but the President talked about his interest in precision medicine. I said: Mr. President, we are working on something we call 21st Century Cures. Why don't we fold that into your precision medicine interest, and we will do it together. At the State of the Union address a year later, the President talked about the Cancer Moonshot and announced Vice President Joe Biden would be in charge of that. So I talked to you and said: Well, we will just fold that in as well. It wasn't moving along as fast as I would like because, as you know and as most people here know, it is full of difficult issues--FDA, safety, moving things though, drug companies' incentives, and then the funding issue on both sides of the aisle.…”