Thomas Daschle: “At about 10:15 this morning, a member of my staff opened an envelope. It became clear from the very beginning that the…”

“At about 10:15 this morning, a member of my staff opened an envelope. It became clear from the very beginning that the envelope contained a suspicious substance. My office notified the Capitol Police and the Capitol physician, who responded almost instantaneously. The tests were taken immediately. They call them field tests. Two field tests were taken on the scene. Both tests confirmed the substance was anthrax. I say 'confirmed' advisedly because a far more sophisticated test is underway. We will not have that information available for approximately 24 hours. Based upon the preliminary tests, members of my staff most directly involved were tested and given an antibiotic. The office was quarantined, and all mail from our office was returned. I immediately contacted the other leaders to inform them of the incident. The President happened to be calling at that point, and I informed him as well. I say the antibiotic is so effective it is 100-percent successful in killing the bacteria once that bacteria has been released. So we are supremely confident of our ability to deal with circumstances such as this. I must compliment the Sergeant at Arms, the Capitol Police, and our Capitol physician for their extraordinary response, organizationally and medically.”