Thomas Daschle: “I am pleased the Senate has passed H.R. 3287/S. 2907, a bill to rename the Brentwood postal facility after Joseph P.…”

“I am pleased the Senate has passed H.R. 3287/S. 2907, a bill to rename the Brentwood postal facility after Joseph P. Curseen, Jr. and Thomas L. Morris, Jr. I can think of nothing more appropriate to honor the memory and tireless service of these two men. Our action today clears the way for the President to sign the bill into law. I especially recognize Celeste Curseen and Mary Morris. While nothing can erase the suffering of the Morris and Curseen families, I hope that the building will stand as a permanent reminder of the ultimate sacrifice made by Thomas Morris and Joseph Curseen. It has been said that 'neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.' On October 15, 2001, that list was expanded when an anthrax-tainted letter was opened in my office. We later learned that its spread was far greater than first expected. A second letter addressed to the Senator from Vermont, Mr. Leahy, was discovered weeks later. The Hart Senate Office Building was closed for more than three months. It took nearly six months to remediate and renovate my own office in that building. In the end, nearly a dozen people nationwide contracted inhalation anthrax, and five people, including Thomas Morris and Joseph Curseen, died as a result of this senseless act of bioterrorism.”