March 15, 2005: NORTON WANTS IMMEDIATE HEARING ON ANTHRAX FINDINGS TODAY IN POSTAL FACILITIES

Washington, DC--Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today requested a hearing as soon as possible concerning a preliminary finding of anthrax at two DoD postal facilities. In a letter to Government Reform Committee Chairman Tom Davis, she said that considering the tragedies that resulted from the 2001 anthrax attacks in the region, Congress needs to reassure the public that a comprehensive investigation is underway and that employees and the public are protected in the meantime. If there is a crack in a system that was designed to keep contamination from reaching a facility in the first place, the public has a right to know what is known now, and to be assured that the committee is “back at work” on this problem, the Congresswoman said.

The full text of Norton’s letter follows.

March 15, 2005

The Honorable Tom Davis
Chairman, Committee on Government Reform

Dear Tom:

I know that you are as concerned as I am that preliminary overnight tests were positive for anthrax at the DoD Pentagon and Fairfax mail facilities. Unless further tests show this first finding to be a false alarm, I request that a hearing be held as soon as possible. We need to know what we can now about the source of the substances and the outstanding flaws in a system on which the federal government has spent billions of dollars to enable detection of anthrax contamination before reaching a mail facility in this area.

After the anthrax tragedy that resulted in the death of two postal service employees here and the illness of many others, we were assured that at least this problem in mail facilities in this region was behind us. Yet, we are confronting another anthrax scare at DoD facilities, which all understood would be at particularly high risk. If there is a crack in the system, we will know it only after a complete investigation. However, the public has a right to know what kind of investigation is being contemplated, what precautions are being taken in the meantime, and whether employees and members of the public are being protected.

Our committee has been extremely diligent in our actions to prevent anthrax contamination through the mail. I write you now because Congress is due to recess for spring break at the end of this week. At the very least, I hope that a hearing can be held before April 5, when Congress returns for formal sessions.

Considering the serious effects of the anthrax attacks four years ago, the public needs reassurance that this matter has attention at the highest levels of oversight. Today’s finding signals the need for our committee to get back to work.

Sincerely,

Eleanor Holmes Norton