[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 142 (Tuesday, October 23, 2001)]
[House]
[Pages H7207-H7208]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           DISTRICT IN CRISIS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton) is recognized 
for 5 minutes.
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to be back here where I 
feel most at home, on the House floor, and have felt that way for more 
than a decade now, especially tonight when we have had an Earth-
shattering experience here in the District, just when the 600,000 
people who live here were getting a grip. I speak, of course, of the 
death of two postal workers unexpectedly that has come down upon us.
  Mr. Speaker, I come to the floor also to say that no city has had a 
greater number of direct consequences from the September 11 attack than 
the District of Columbia: The closure of National Airport; the shutdown 
of our major industry, tourism, the only real industry we have got here 
except government; the closure of the House; anthrax scares and now 
anthrax deaths. Like most of you, I know my constituents look to me, 
they have to look to me for leadership, especially in times of crisis. 
I am trying to help my people move on to avoid panic, and I need the 
help of this House and of the entire Congress.
  My folks are being very brave when you consider what they have 
encountered. I have just come from D.C. General Hospital where Majority 
Leader Daschle, Mr. Sarbanes, Ms. Mikulski of Maryland, Mayor Williams, 
and all of us gathered to inspect the facility where postal workers are 
receiving Cipro. We pray for the families of those who have died from 
Brentwood and of those who have come down with the disease there and on 
the Hill.
  I must tell you that the postal workers there were amazingly calm, in 
their uniforms, simply ready to get their Cipro and go on with their 
work. But, Mr. Speaker, the 24-hour cable and the announcement that 
health officials have to make, public officials have to make, warning 
postal workers and Americans of danger have eclipsed any messages that 
we are Americans and we have got to go on with our lives and not be 
terrorized by terror.
  The leadership role those of us in the Congress, all of us who are 
public officials, must play in times like this compels us to help our 
people get their balance, avoid paralysis, panic, and pain.

[[Page H7208]]

 We have got to start reminding our folks not only of the danger but 
that most of us are safe.
  Yes, I am struggling with the grief of two who died here; but at the 
same time, I tell my people that the two who died here of anthrax which 
gives flu-like symptoms, that 10,000 die of flu every year. We have got 
to put this into some perspective or else we are simply going to help 
paralyze our own people. We have got to remind them that the Nation's 
capital is the best protected city in the world notwithstanding the 
anthrax deaths. We have got to help the people of this city and of the 
United States get past this. We have got to help them understand that 
the House and the Senate and the Congress will soon be safe enough for 
all to come and see.
  Above all, we have got to send a message that yes, school children 
can come again to their Nation's capital and can come to their 
Congress. I ask for your help in getting out to the people of this city 
and to the American people messages of reassurance that all now hunger 
for.

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