[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 1]
[House]
[Pages 20-21]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  RATHER BE CALLED CHICKEN THAN MORON

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Issa). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Foley) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. FOLEY. Mr. Speaker, I want to start off the second session of the 
107th Congress on a positive note, and take a moment to remind those 
listening when anthrax first hit our Capitol, there was a decision made 
by the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hastert), the Speaker, in 
conjunction with the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Gephardt), the 
minority leader, to move our employees out and close the House for a 
couple of days to see the difficulty that we faced and the problems 
with anthrax spores in the Capitol. I commend both gentlemen because 
they were concerned about the safety of the employees and the health 
and welfare of the people in their charge.
  The headlines screamed chicken, and blamed the Speaker of the House 
for Congress abandoning our responsibilities. I call attention to 
today's headlines in USA Today, ``Anthrax at Senate offices deadlier 
than first thought.'' My colleagues may remember that in the other 
Chamber there was bravado saying we are going to stay and work. We 
cannot believe the House Members would leave and run for cover. Let me 
repeat the headline. ``Anthrax at Senate offices deadlier than first 
thought.''
  Mr. Speaker, let me read from the same paper. Greg Martin, Bethesda

[[Page 21]]

Naval Hospital, took samples from Congressional aides and used them to 
grow cultures in the lab. He is a medical professional working for the 
U.S. Government.

       The words ``weaponized'' and ``highly concentrated spores'' 
     were still days away from making their way into the 
     headlines. But Greg Martin, a physician in the hospital's 
     medical corps, became so alarmed that morning that he asked 
     for beds to be reserved at Bethesda. He was expecting 
     staffers to become ill from their exposure to anthrax.
  Let me read more on why the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hastert) was 
so concerned for the employees of the Federal Government, the children 
of American families who work in our Nation's Capitol.

       Nasal swabs from the Daschle aides had been incubating 
     overnight in the laboratory. Not enough hours had passed by 
     usual research standards for cultures to grow. Martin did not 
     expect to see anything out of the ordinary, but he was 
     shocked. ``I was horrified to see there was heavy growth on 
     numerous plates. That is when it all hit home that we had an 
     extensive exposure.''

  Mr. Speaker, the House made the right decision, and I said days later 
I would rather be called a chicken than a moron for staying and leaving 
the citizens of this Capitol city exposed to deadly bacteria until we 
were able to find out whether it was in our offices.
  Let me take a moment, though, to commend the senior Senator from 
Massachusetts for saying to the Press Club, I want to raise taxes. He 
said what was on the mind of many Democrats, but they were afraid to 
utter. They went on national talk shows and said, We think the 
President needs to figure out a solution for the recession. We think 
the President brought us to a recession, blaming the chief executive of 
this country for the recession but not offering their own solutions. 
But the Senator said it clearly. Let us raise taxes. Let us reverse the 
tax cuts, the same thing. Everyone now agrees.
  Mr. Speaker, I have to commend him for his courage. I have to commend 
him for saying it like it is on the record, for people to compare and 
contrast the political parties and what their intents are for the 
future of this debate. American families are struggling. Businesses are 
struggling. People are frightened. Consumer confidence is down. The 
last thing we should do is raise taxes in a recession.
  John Fitzgerald Kennedy in 1961 decided when the recession looked 
bleak and our economy was teetering, he boldly suggested tax cuts, 
remarkably successful in those years. Today, a relative suggests that 
is not such a smart economic principle. That is great reflection.
  I will stick with our course any day of the week. As a member of the 
Committee on Ways and Means, I salute the gentleman from California 
(Mr. Thomas) for addressing the economic needs of this country. We can 
throw fear into the hearts of citizens and make them scared with talk 
of gloom and doom. I hope one party stands on this high hill above the 
city and suggests a way for Americans to have confidence in their 
country, which we have displayed in our war against terrorism, and give 
this President the same kind of confidence and backing that he will 
need to bring us to an economic certainty, to bring us to a time when 
people feel good about the direction of this country.

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