[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 144 (Thursday, October 25, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11075-S11076]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     ANTHRAX ATTACK ON CAPITOL HILL

  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I will use this time for just a couple of 
minutes to provide a brief update on our circumstances involving the 
buildings here in the Capitol complex and the situation involving the 
anthrax experience we have all been attempting to work through.
  I had hoped before the end of the week to give our colleagues a 
briefing. There have been meetings ongoing as late as this afternoon. 
But I believed it was important for those who couldn't come to the 
meetings to share at least some of the information we have available to 
us.

[[Page S11076]]

  It has been 10 days now since the letter containing anthrax was 
opened in my office in the Hart Building. We now have the final results 
on all the nasal swabs collected by the attending physician's office. 
Of the more than 6,000 swabs, 28 were positive for exposure. All 28 of 
the people whose nasal swabs were positive were on the fifth and sixth 
floors of the Hart Building's southeast quadrant last Monday. All are 
being treated with antibiotics. I am happy to say that all currently 
are healthy.
  In all, more than 400 people who worked in or passed through the 
fifth or sixth floor of the Hart Building's southeast quadrant last 
Monday are being treated with a full 60-day course of antibiotics.
  I know I speak for all of us on Capitol Hill when I say how deeply 
saddened we are by the deaths this week of the two postal workers from 
the Brentwood mail facility. We are also concerned about the two other 
employees from the Brentwood facility who are currently hospitalized 
and fighting anthrax infections.
  On behalf of the entire Senate, I say that our thoughts and prayers 
are with them, their families, and all of the men and women of the U.S. 
Postal Service. They are dedicated public servants and they, like the 
Capitol Police and Senate employees exposed to anthrax, are innocent 
victims.
  As for the buildings, the Capitol itself has been open all week for 
official business. After virtually around-the-clock environmental 
testing, a number of other buildings in the Capitol complex have begun 
reopening.
  The Russell Senate Office Building reopened yesterday. The Rayburn 
and Cannon House Office Buildings reopened today. Also open today are 
the Senate day care center, Webster Hall, the Senate page dorm, and the 
Postal Square where Senate offices have been given temporary work 
spaces. The mailroom in the Dirksen Senate Office Building where a 
trace of anthrax was discovered last week is being remediated today. 
Pending the results of environmental tests, it is my expectation that 
the Dirksen Office Building will be reopened tomorrow.
  We have also learned that evidence of anthrax was found on the air-
conditioning filter on the ninth floor of the Hart Building and the 
stairwell leading from the eighth to the ninth floor. The experts say 
this is neither a surprise nor a concern. Environmental testing and 
nasal swabs of this section of the Hart Building show no further 
exposure beyond what we already know.
  In addition, late last night we learned that the environmental tests 
in the freight elevator in the southwest quadrant of the Hart Senate 
Office Building tested positive. Based on this finding, the attending 
physician now recommends that anyone who rode in that freight elevator 
on October 11, the probable date the letter was delivered to my office, 
or later, be treated with a 60-day course of antibiotics. Anyone who 
rode on the southwest Hart freight elevator should see the attending 
physician.

  The Hart Building will reopen as it is completely safe. The reopening 
has been the subject of a good deal of discussion with all of our teams 
of consultants in and out of the Government. We are looking at the most 
appropriate way with which to remediate the Hart Building. Some have 
suggested we remediate the area before any of it is open. If that is 
possible, that will be our plan.
  If it is determined that it is not possible to remediate it in the 
not-too-distant future, within the next several days, we may have to 
remediate it in stages and open up the Hart Building in stages.
  First, though, before any part of the building reopens, environmental 
specialists will examine the nine floors in the southeast quadrant and 
the area near the southwest freight elevator where anthrax was 
detected. The exact footprint of the southwest quadrant to be examined 
is still being determined by both scientific and medical specialists.
  This anthrax assault has forced a number of temporary changes in the 
way we work on Capitol Hill. On Monday and Tuesday, all 100 Senators 
worked out of the Capitol Building. It may be the first time Senators 
shared such close quarters since the Russell Office Building opened in 
1909. While the accommodations were a little cramped, the spirit of 
determination and cooperation in the Capitol this week has certainly 
been admirable.
  This incident has also forced another temporary change on the Hill. 
Every week more than 250,000 pieces of mail are sent to the U.S. Senate 
alone. The mail Senators receive is an important lifeline. It is how 
our constituents tell us what is on their minds and how they 
communicate when they need help.
  Since last Monday, when the U.S. Postal Service halted delivery to 
the Capitol, mail for Senators has been piling up in a regional postal 
facility. It will continue to be held there until we are absolutely 
certain it poses no risk to anybody, and it will be remediated as well. 
The postal workers who handle it and the staffers who open it will all 
be protected.
  The Senate Sergeant at Arms is working closely with the Postal 
Service and with medical and environmental experts to establish 
procedures for safe mail handling and delivery.
  This has been a difficult week--not only for my staff and others here 
on Capitol Hill but for our Nation's postal workers and for many 
Americans. My staff and I are grateful for the outpouring of concern 
and support we continue to receive from all over the country.
  I thank the many experts who continue to work virtually around the 
clock--the Federal Government, the military, the District of Columbia 
and, of course, our colleagues and staff here in the Senate. The 
challenge facing these people, in particular, is unprecedented in 
American history. To a person, they have responded admirably and 
enabled the Senate to move ahead with the legislative business of our 
Nation. I am grateful to each one of them, and I thank them for their 
effort.
  I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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