Thomas Foley: “I want to start off the second session of the 107th Congress on a positive note, and take a moment to remind those…”

“I want to start off the second session of the 107th Congress on a positive note, and take a moment to remind those listening when anthrax first hit our Capitol, there was a decision made by the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hastert), the Speaker, in conjunction with the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Gephardt), the minority leader, to move our employees out and close the House for a couple of days to see the difficulty that we faced and the problems with anthrax spores in the Capitol. I commend both gentlemen because they were concerned about the safety of the employees and the health and welfare of the people in their charge. The headlines screamed chicken, and blamed the Speaker of the House for Congress abandoning our responsibilities. I call attention to today's headlines in USA Today, ``Anthrax at Senate offices deadlier than first thought.'' My colleagues may remember that in the other Chamber there was bravado saying we are going to stay and work. We cannot believe the House Members would leave and run for cover. Let me repeat the headline. ``Anthrax at Senate offices deadlier than first thought.'' Mr. Speaker, let me read from the same paper. Greg Martin, Bethesda Naval Hospital, took samples from Congressional aides and used them to grow cultures in the lab. He is a medical professional working for the U.S. Government. The words ``weaponized'' and ``highly concentrated spores'' were still days away from making their way into the headlines.”