Joe Lieberman: “Senator Hatch, Senator Brownback and I are pleased to introduce today the Project BioShield II Act of 2005. This is the…”

“Senator Hatch, Senator Brownback and I are pleased to introduce today the Project BioShield II Act of 2005. This is the fourth bill I have introduced on this subject, and the third with Senator Hatch as my lead cosponsor. We are delighted today to be joined by Senator Brownback, a leading advocate for research to cure deadly tropical diseases. None of us on the Hill--especially those of us with offices in the Hart Building--will forget October 15, the date of the anthrax attack on Senator Daschle's office. This date is the bioterrorism equivalent of September 11. We also need to remember October 5, the third anniversary of the 2001 anthrax death of Bob Stevens, a photo editor at American Media in Boca Raton, Florida, and November 17, the third anniversary of the discovery of a similar anthrax laced letter mailed to Senator Leahy. Similar anthrax attacks during these weeks were directed at NBC, ABC, CBS and other news organizations. All told five people died and thousands who might have been exposed were put on Cipro, including many of us and many of our staff. This attack on civilians with weapons grade anthrax was unprovoked. And unlike the case with the 9/11 attacks, we still don't know who mailed the anthrax letters. As with the 9/11 attacks, we were totally unprepared for the anthrax-laced letters.…”