Patrick Leahy: “Two years have passed since several anthrax letters were sent to a few journalists and, obviously, to public officials…”

“Two years have passed since several anthrax letters were sent to a few journalists and, obviously, to public officials, killing inadvertent victims. These are victims whose only sin, apparently, was doing their jobs, and these attacks have left several other people sick and out of work. The Senate and all who work here--the Senate family--are still adjusting to the aftermath of these attacks 2 years later. We see it in new layers of security. We see it in new mail-handling procedures in which mail to Capitol Hill now is screened and irradiated before it is delivered. The U.S. Postal Service has had to develop and implement new safety measures to protect its customers and its workers. Meanwhile, nearly two dozen of our fellow Americans who merely came into contact with these anthrax-laden letters have become the forgotten victims of terror. Some have suffered poor health, and some have not been able to return to work. I am pleased to join with Senator Daschle and my other good friends, Senators Lautenberg, Nelson of Florida, Feingold, Corzine, Mikulski, Sarbanes, and Clinton, to introduce the Anthrax Victims Fund Fairness Act of 2003.”