Steny Hoyer: “First, New York, Pennsylvania and the Pentagon, Virginia and the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, sustained a direct…”

“First, New York, Pennsylvania and the Pentagon, Virginia and the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, sustained a direct attack; but there is another institution in our country which has sustained a direct impact, and that is the Postal Service of our Nation. We have lost two postal workers to anthrax. They died as a result of anthrax inhalation. I attended a memorial service for those two gentlemen, Mr. Curseen and Mr. Morris, 2 days ago. In the Obey amendment, there is an item of $500 million to allow the postal department to respond: one, to make sure that we do not lose any more lives of those who serve us in the postal department; and secondly, to make sure that we have the resources necessary to make sure that the mail that goes through the Postal Service, before it is delivered to individuals, is in fact free of biological or chemical agents which would cause them harm. This is a critical component of the Obey amendment that, hopefully, will be made in order and we can offer. We cannot wait. From my standpoint, this is not enough money for the Postal Service.”