Byron Dorgan: “I rise to talk a bit about the economic recovery plan. I begin by saying that yesterday, I chaired a hearing dealing…”

“I rise to talk a bit about the economic recovery plan. I begin by saying that yesterday, I chaired a hearing dealing with the U.S. Postal Service. My colleague, Senator Byrd from West Virginia, attended the hearing and asked the Postmaster General a series of questions. As with a lot of areas in our country since September 11, the U.S. Postal Service has been dramatically affected, perhaps more so than others. They have had postal workers die as a result of terrorists who used the system as a delivery mechanism for terror and death from the anthrax spores sent through the mail. I told the Postmaster General that this country expresses its sorrow for what has happened to the Postal Service workers. These are wonderful people. I mentioned one of the stories about the two Postal Service workers who died which described both of them in quite remarkable terms. One of them had worked 15 years on the night shift and had never, in 15 years, used 1 day of sick leave. One should not judge someone by whether or not they use sick leave. The point is, this person's neighbors talked about what a wonderful human being this person was.”