[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Pages 15826-15827]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                            ANTHRAX ATTACKS

  Mr. CARDIN. Madam President, I rise to remember the 10th anniversary 
of the anthrax attacks on our country.
  During the weeks following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 
2011, our Nation was exposed to chemical warfare for the first time.
  Two anthrax attacks were delivered through our country's postal 
system. The first set of letters was mailed to media outlets, including 
ABC, CBS, NBC, the National Enquirer, and the New York Post in 
September.
  Three weeks later, two other anthrax letters were mailed to U.S. 
Senators--Senator Daschle and Senator Patrick Leahy. The letter to 
Senator Leahy never made it to Capitol Hill. The envelope addressed to 
Senator Daschle, however, was opened on October 15 in the Hart Senate 
Office Building in the mailroom of the office I use today. Emergency 
responders rushed to join Capitol Police to evaluate the situation and 
determine the extent of contamination.
  It was 10 years ago this week on October 17, 2001, the Capitol was 
evacuated. At that time I was a Member of the House of Representatives. 
I remember the fear and trepidation all Americans felt in the days and 
weeks following September 11.
  I take this time to honor the courage of our Nation's Federal 
employees. Two made the ultimate sacrifice, dying from the exposure of 
the deadly anthrax toxin at the postal facility that handled all the 
mail that came to the Senate and House offices. U.S. postal workers 
Thomas L. Morris, Jr. and Joseph P. Curseen, Jr. gave the ultimate 
sacrifice after being exposed to the infected Senate mail while they 
worked in the Brentwood post office facility here in Washington, DC.
  Mr. Morris and Mr. Curseen were Maryland residents. Like so many 
other Federal employees, they went to work every day, serving the 
American people and trying to earn a living for themselves and their 
families. Less than a week after being exposed to the deadly anthrax at 
the mail facility, both men died of their exposures.
  The Brentwood postal facility, which was shuttered for months while 
the building was disinfected, now proudly bears their names, honoring 
two Federal employees who died doing their jobs.
  Literally thousands of other Federal employees bravely went back to 
work, making sure our government continued to function in the most 
uncertain of times. While most Federal workers crammed together in 
small makeshift office space, other brave Federal employees put 
themselves in harm's way trying to contain the spread of the weaponized 
spores and to clean up the deadly bacteria.
  It has been fashionable of late to criticize the Environmental 
Protection Agency, but I remind everyone that members of the EPA's 
region 3 led the emergency response efforts following the anthrax 
attacks. They were joined by a small army of other EPA emergency 
responders from around the country who responded to the call for extra 
personnel to manage the massive decontamination efforts.
  The EPA's headquarter staffers were fully engaged as well. The EPA 
national pesticide program worked quickly to develop new methods 
necessary to wipe out the anthrax. Scientists worked primarily out of 
EPA's pesticide lab, which is located 20 miles away in Fort Meade, MD.
  It was not just EPA employees who answered the call to duty. Capitol 
police were the first ones to respond, and they continued to provide 
protection to legislative branch employees as well as the emergency 
responders and the public.
  The Department of Defense lent its expertise. As the cleanup 
progressed, thousands of tests were taken and then sent to Fort Detrick 
in Maryland where chemical weapons specialists analyzed samples and 
reported results

[[Page 15827]]

to the emergency command center. Defense Department personnel were also 
engaged in the decontamination efforts, working side by side with EPA 
emergency responders.
  The photos I brought to the floor today show some of the emergency 
responders wearing specialized protective gear, working on the 
decontamination of Senator Daschle's office. Each desk, chair, filing 
cabinet, and piece of paper in the office was removed. The last item to 
be removed from room 509 at the Hart Building was an American flag that 
hung in Senator Daschle's front office. Emergency responders are seen 
here folding the flag that was placed in a special sealed bag and sent 
off to be decontaminated. Countless employees at the Sergeant at Arms, 
the Architect of the Capitol, and Senate and House staffers continued 
the business of running our government and the legislature. It was 
critical that Congress continue to function, demonstrating to the 
Nation and the world that terrorist attacks could not cripple the 
institution of democracy.
  Other Federal employees put themselves in harm's way during and after 
the anthrax attacks. These Federal employees worked hard to do what 
many thought impossible, putting public buildings back into use after a 
chemical attack. At great risk to themselves, they bravely met the 
challenges to ensure our government continued to function.
  Today I honor the memory of Thomas L. Morris, Jr. and Joseph P. 
Curseen, Jr. who gave their lives while engaged in public service. 
Today I salute those Federal employees who risked their own lives so 
that the legislative branch of the greatest government on Earth could 
continue, and those who continued to work every day in the face of 
grave danger and uncertainty. Today I simply want to give a heartfelt 
thank you to all of America's Federal employees. You recognize that 
public service is an honorable calling and you work every day to keep 
this Nation the great Nation it is.
  With that, let me once again thank our Federal workforce and what 
they do for our country.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. UDALL of Colorado. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that 
the order for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

                          ____________________