Bill Frist

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I will restate what you just heard. We will resume consideration of S. 1072, the highway bill on Monday. It has been a challenging week in lots of different ways. We have had this incident in my personal office and a lot went on here on the floor, with progress. I know the ranking member and the managers of this bill have been frustrated in that we have not made as much progress as they would have liked. They would like to have this bill signed, sealed, delivered, and done. We did have good debate on the highway bill. Important points have been made throughout the week. We have the foundation to complete action on this bill next week. You just heard that we will be working through the afternoon. There will be people working tonight and people will be working tomorrow, as you have just heard, on Saturday and Sunday, in preparation for coming back in at 1 o'clock on Monday. We have a lot to cover next week on this bill. It is an important bill. I argue that it is a vital bill to support the infrastructure we are all so dependent upon each and every day in our activities, whether it is during the weekends, or going to school or work, or as part of our business. We have an obligation to continue to address it and to complete this next week. Since we are closing down for the week, it has been only 5 days since this letter with this toxic substance was directed at this institution. As I have said before, I have been very pleased with the response in terms of the coordination, the communication. It is not perfect; it can be better; but I assure people we will take each incident and do our very best to communicate as well as we can, review procedures, and review systems, and we are doing just that. I just finished a conference call for 30 minutes with the 40 employee staff members affected most directly from my office and from the EPW office and Senators Jeffords' and Inhofe's office, answering questions. There are a lot of unanswered questions. We will answer those and meet with them and come up with different and better procedures as we go forward. The fact that the chairman could say the Hart Building is open tomorrow is music to my ears. We were able to open it ahead of schedule. The Russell Building got opened and the Dirksen Building, which is still closed, will be opened Monday morning. It is right on schedule. I thank everybody for coming together and working through a broad range of both national agencies and agencies here on the Hill. First and foremost is the safety of our Senate employees, and we responded in such a way that I am happy to say nobody has been hurt. Everybody is OK, in spite of the fact we had this assault. Also during this week, in Chairman Gregg's HELP Committee, we passed S. 1879, an extension of the mammography quality provision. In Chairman Collins' committee, we worked on S. 1612, which established a technology equipment and information transfer program with the Department of Homeland Security. We passed that this week. The Senate confirmed a U.S. district judge this week for the Northern District of Illinois. We will be back in Monday. The chairman encourages members to have amendments and contact him. His staff will be working through the weekend. As the assistant Democratic leader mentioned, we will not be voting on Monday, but we will be working. I will consult with Senator Inhofe and the Democratic leadership as we go forward. I hope we will be prepared for a vote early Tuesday morning. We will keep people posted in that regard. I did mention this earlier. Do you know what your blood pressure is? Fifty million people have hypertension, which causes stroke and heart attacks. A third of the people don't know they have it. If you know you have it, we have ways to treat it these days. The Medicare bill we passed means you can diagnose it because, for the first, in an entry level physical exam which is part of Medicare, you are going to be able to have hypertension treated. If you don't know what your blood pressure is, go home tonight and think about that and have it checked.

Mr. FRIST. It is silent. You don't feel it until you have a stroke or heart attack. There are ways to prevent it. It is the silent killer. That is what the American Heart Association says. February is heart month, and right now the First Lady has a real initiative for women's heart disease. More women die of heart disease than men. I bet you didn't know that. A lot of people think it is more men.

Mr. FRIST. Yes. People don't know they have it. Probably about a fourth of the people listening to me have hypertension, and a third don't know it, and they will die prematurely. It is pretty interesting.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now proceed to a period of morning business with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate stand in adjournment under the previous order.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I will be speaking, for the next several moments, on leader time. DC School Choice Incentive Act Mr. President, very briefly, I will address two issues, the first relating to a bill we passed 2 weeks ago. In fact, 14 days ago--exactly 2 weeks ago--the Senate voted 65 to 28 to help liberate Washington, DC's schoolchildren from its worst performing public schools. The bill itself was called DC Choice. The ``DC'' is obviously the District of Columbia. And the ``choice'' really is right at the heart of empowering parents and families and schoolchildren to participate in the decisions that we know strike right at the heart of opening that American dream and giving hope to young schoolchildren here in the District. DC Choice had weathered years of debate and even a veto by President Clinton, but finally DC Choice is on its way to the District's neediest public school children. It was 2 weeks ago that we passed a bill that helps schoolchildren here in the District. Under the DC School Choice Incentive Act, the District will receive 40 million new dollars to support public schools and charter schools and choice scholarships. Indeed, nearly 2,000 District schoolchildren will now be able to receive federally funded opportunity scholarships to the tune of about $7,500 each in order to attend schools of their choice. I take this opportunity to thank some of the people--I regard them as true leaders--who made this historic legislation happen. First, I commend Senator DeWine for his integrity and fairness in guiding the school choice debate. Senator DeWine, as we all know, is a consummate gentleman and has been an invaluable ally in the cause of justice for the District's schoolchildren. I also express my deep appreciation and respect for Senator Judd Gregg. His passion for this issue, his dedication to this issue, his unflagging commitment to seeing that DC's children get the very best education possible, the best education we can offer, really is an inspiration to us all. Senator Feinstein also deserves tremendous praise for her leadership. Her devoted support for DC schoolchildren was critical in moving this legislation, this effort forward. But in addition to our colleagues, none of this would have been possible without the leadership and courage of the city's elected leadership, people such as Mayor Anthony Williams. He has been sincere and tenacious throughout the discussion and the debate. He has again and again reflected his belief in and commitment to the District of Columbia's children. Over the last several weeks and months, he has shown extraordinary strength and determination in achieving that goal of giving children here in the District that hope for the future, that opportunity to succeed, to realize the American dream. Others who have been instrumental in this effort--Cardinal McCarrick, Peggy Cooper Cafritz, Kevin Chavous, and Virginia Walden Ford--have demonstrated exemplary leadership in accomplishing passage of this legislation. They are, to me, true champions of the public good, and the District of Columbia is made better by their leadership. I also thank Senate staffers Mary Dietrich, Sharon Soderstron, Townsend Lange McNitt, and Denzel McGuire for their hard work, their compassion, and their dedication to passage of this bill. They devoted long hours to this legislation. Washington, DC, the District here, is blessed to have caring and committed citizens pressing for change. And with passage of this bill, change is coming soon to the District's classrooms. Some colleagues--some in this body and others--have implied that they want to reverse this historic accomplishment. These individuals, I think, by doing so, by expressing they want to see the reversal of this historic accomplishment, at least imply to me tolerating the status quo. That simply is unacceptable--the status quo--where we do have too many failing schools here in the District, where we have frustrated parents who see their children locked in these failing schools. We have kids here in the District, within blocks and miles of this Capitol Building, without hope, without ambitions, without dreams. We have an obligation to help reverse this hopelessness, and indeed that is exactly what this legislation does. We no longer can keep this city's children in the shadows. It is time to help lift them up, lift them up to ours and their parents' and their families' highest expectations. Lifting the District's children out of illiteracy and educational poverty, putting the District's children on the path to academic excellence, is just too important. The District's leaders want it, the District's parents want it, and, most importantly, the District's children deserve it. We can all expect intense scrutiny as this choice plan, which is now law of the land, unfolds. Critics, I know, are going to assail every perceived setback. But also expect the District of Columbia schoolchildren to prove them wrong. In cities such as Detroit and Milwaukee, where choice has been tried, choice has thrived. We see scores go up; we see educational gaps narrow; we see parents much more pleased, much happier with their children's schools; and we see that public support for school choice rises. Choice in the District will succeed because it is based on the belief that achievement is for everyone and not just a privileged few; that if you open the door to opportunity, hard-working people are going to step through that door. I am proud of everyone who made the D.C. educational choice happen. It begins with the parents, probably ends with the legislators, but also includes the elected officials and committed community leaders. I am also proud of the District schoolchildren. Now, because of DC Choice, they are more likely to have that more cherished of American birthrights: a solid education, something we all know is the key to the American dream. Marriage Mr. President, I will take just a few minutes and comment on another issue, an issue that relates to the decision yesterday by the Massachusetts Supreme Court. By now we have all heard that, in the decision yesterday made by the Massachusetts Supreme Court, same-sex marriage is the law of that State according to the courts. Indeed, same-sex marriage licenses will be issued beginning May 17 in Massachusetts. Same-sex couples from across the Nation will go to Massachusetts to get married. They will return to their home States--whether it be Tennessee or Alabama or Wyoming or Ohio, all 50 States--and I would think and assume that all of them would sue. Some of our best legal minds conclude that courts will require recognition of same-sex marriage in every single State in the Nation. Marriage should remain the union of a man and a woman. The evidence is overwhelming that children do best with a mother and a father. We are gambling with our future if we permit activist judges to redefine marriage for our whole society. I want to be very clear: We reject intolerance. We reject hatred. We must treat all our fellow citizens with civility and kindness. But marriage should not be redefined by the courts, and we in this body cannot let it. We will not let it. The U.S. Congress has codified this principle in the Defense of Marriage Act. It passed with 85 votes in the Senate and was signed by President Clinton in 1996. We must protect, preserve, and strengthen the institution of marriage against activist judges. If that means we must amend the Constitution, as it seems increasingly likely, then we will do just that. I yield the floor.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Finance be authorized to meet during the session on Wednesday, February 4, 2004, at 9:30 a.m., to hear testimony on the administration's Health and Human Services Budget Priorities. The meeting will be held in room B318 of the Rayburn House Office Building.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Governmental Affairs be authorized to meet on Wednesday, February 4, 2004, at 2 p.m., for a hearing titled ``Preserving a Strong United States Postal Service: Workforce Issues, Day 2.'' The meeting will be held in room 2154 of the Rayburn House Office Building.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on February 4, 2004, at 10 a.m., to conduct a business meeting to consider the proposed Federal Public Transportation Act. The meeting will be held in room S-219 of the Capitol.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. If there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate stand in adjournment under the previous order.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Tomorrow morning, following morning business, the Senate will resume consideration of S. 1072, the highway bill. There are currently two amendments pending to the bill. It is my hope that we will be able to work through those amendments early in the day so we can proceed to additional amendments. Senators should expect votes tomorrow as the Senate continues to make progress on the highway bill.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I appreciate the Democratic leader's comments and will turn the floor back to the managers. We will have continued announcements. One of the real efforts we have tried to fulfill and missions we put forward is to stay in touch and communicate as best we can. We will continue to do that. There will be a press conference by the Capitol police with an update later this afternoon and they will sit down and announce more about that to give a technical update in terms of the progress that has been made. I yield the floor.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, for several minutes I want to give our colleagues an update and make several announcements which will have a direct impact on their schedules for the next several days. I begin by thanking my colleagues for their patience as we work through these uncertain times. I assure them, we are progressing as rapidly as we can, as rapidly as is humanly possible. We are on course to be back in complete functioning operation here. That plan I will lay out shortly. I do want to make a couple of quick points though. First, everybody is doing well. There are a number of people who have been in very close contact to the poisonous substance which was identified in my office. They are all doing well. The emergency responders are all doing well. That is my primary focus; that is, the safety and well-being of our extended Senate family here. We are continuing to monitor the health of all people who were potentially exposed and we have identified and spoken with each of those. They have had the appropriate counseling. Everybody is doing well. As the world knows by now, the impact of inhaled ricin, to the best of our knowledge, is over a very short period of time and we are well beyond that window, now 48 hours after the time of exposure. I do commend and applaud my staff because they were astute in noting the powder and responded appropriately and quickly, and that could have, and in fact I am sure did, avert a serious and potentially life- threatening matter for others. The incident, as I mentioned, is 48 hours old. We were able to move aggressively and rapidly to isolate that affected area in my mailroom. The monitoring of health effects has gone very smoothly. I appreciate the Capitol Physician's Office, as I mentioned this morning and last night, being with all people exposed and have counseled people since that point in time. We were able to implement plans which had been carefully laid out and coordinated among many different groups, agencies here on the Capitol Grounds, and that results in protection of Members and protection of staff and the reaction in a very sophisticated way to this discovery. After consultation with appropriate officials and reflecting upon the excellent coordination with the Sergeant at Arms and the Capitol Hill police, I have made a decision this morning, in consultation with the Democratic leader and others, that we can accelerate our efforts to open our Senate office buildings. It is still not going to be as quickly as most people would like, but we can accelerate the initial proposal and plans. This proposal is consistent with safely removing mail and continuing to review data, which literally comes back every 30 minutes to an hour, as teams move through the complex, the very large complex of the Senate office buildings, but also a response on the House side and in the Capitol itself. Thus, barring any unforeseen discoveries--and I put that provision in there because you don't know an hour later that something may be discovered. But barring any unforeseen discoveries, the time schedule for opening the buildings will be the following: The Russell Senate Office Building, tomorrow, Thursday, at noon, February 5. We will be able to open that office building at 12 noon. Again, Thursday noon, February 5, Russell Senate office building. Friday at 9 a.m., February 6, we will reopen the Hart Senate office building. The Dirksen Senate office building, which is the crime scene itself, will open on Monday at 7 a.m., February 9. A lot of people thought it would be days and days to reopen. Initially we did not know how long. People pointed out with the anthrax, the buildings were closed for weeks and weeks. We made a decision to accelerate this schedule based on increased manpower that has been offered by various agencies, our continued understanding about the exposure to ricin, the understanding and information that has placed this in one room at this juncture based on the findings to date, and that in all of the monitoring equipment, the HEPA filters throughout the area that have been examined, and we continue to examine them throughout the complex, of all the monitoring and filtering equipment employed, the filters have all been demonstrated to be clean and therefore there has not been aerosolization of this agent. I do also want to tell Members they can have access to their offices--they, themselves--after assessing the risk, and our counseling will be directly to them. If they want to go to their office and remove essential papers or documents--not mail; mail should not be touched-- they can do that. We do ask that they talk to the Secretary of the Senate's office where the control room is--they have that telephone number--if they plan on going into their office building to access important information to allow them to carry out the essential functions of their office. We will continue to work with all the Members to ensure a smooth and safe reopening of the Senate complex consistent with this schedule. Again, Thursday noon, February 5, the Russell Senate office building will open. Friday, 9 a.m., February 6, the Hart Senate office building will reopen. Monday, 7 a.m., February 9, the Dirksen Senate office building will reopen. Let me close and simply again thank the Capitol police, Chief Gainer, who has done a tremendous job, the EPA, the United States Marines, the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, the Attending Physician's office, the CDC, the Sergeant at Arms, the Secretary of the Senate, and so many others involved in response to this incident.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, we will proceed with the regular order here then. ricin update Mr. President, let me just say, in reference to the incident, the criminal investigation that is underway because of the attack here with ricin now 2 days ago, I will, sometime in the next hour, be coming back to the floor for a very brief announcement so our colleagues will know of a proposed schedule for the reopening of the Senate office buildings. I will be working on that over the course of the next 40 minutes or so. I mentioned to the Democratic leader that I will plan to come back. I know there is a lot of concern and anticipation, and some frustration, not knowing exactly when Senators will have access to their offices and to their records. We are working on that. We have been working on it over the course of the morning. We made real progress yesterday. It was a very successful day in terms of laboratory testing. But again, let me come back and say that it is the safety and welfare of our employees and our staff that is fundamental. The science of this particular agent is uncertain and new, but we have a lot of certainty that we are gaining with each minute. So I plan on coming back to the floor in about 30 minutes. order of procedure

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, the managers are here. I know we had not locked in any time. I would like to defer to the managers for that because, as we had said before, we would like to proceed with the consideration of the bill itself.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, this morning the Senate and House were privileged to conduct a joint meeting--a wonderful meeting--to hear a powerful address by President Aznar of Spain. I again thank President Aznar, who left here just moments ago, for his visit and for his remarks today. Spain, through this President, has been a true ally in every sense of the word. He did a wonderful job in articulating the great friendship that our two countries have demonstrated, as he said, over the last two administrations of this country. schedule Mr. President, this afternoon we have resumed consideration of S. 1072, the highway bill. We notified Senators last night that it is our intention to work to complete action on this bill before the February recess. We have made some progress on the bill thus far this week. The chairman modified the committee substitute yesterday and is ready to work with Senators on their amendments today. Rollcall votes should be anticipated during today's session as we begin the amendment process. I, once again, encourage Senators to come to the floor and to work with the bill managers to schedule floor time. In addition to the highway bill amendments, the Senate may act on available judicial nominations today. We will alert all Members of these votes as they are scheduled. unanimous consent agreement--committee meetings Mr. President, I have three unanimous consent requests for committees to meet during today's session of the Senate. They all have been approved by the majority and minority leadership. I ask unanimous consent that these requests be agreed to, en bloc, and that these requests be printed in the Record.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Calendar No. 318, H.R. 1446, the California missions bill, be referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now proceed to consideration of Calendar No. 416, S. 1612.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the committee substitute be agreed to; that the bill, as amended, be read the third time and passed; that the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table; and that any statements relating to the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 9 a.m., Thursday, February 5. I further ask that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and the Senate then begin a period for morning business until 10:30 a.m., with the first 22 minutes under the control of Senator Roberts or his designee, the following 22 minutes under the control of Senator Graham of Florida or his designee, the following 22 minutes under the control of the majority leader or his designee, and the final 22 minutes under the control of Senator Feinstein or her designee; provided that following morning business, the Senate resume consideration of S. 1072, the highway bill.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, we will be closing very shortly but I want to make a couple of remarks on the events of the day. The highlight of the day for me personally was the joint session we had earlier today with the presentation by President Aznar of Spain. His address to Members of the Senate and the House of Representatives very much captured the essence of what makes Spain and the United States of America strong allies and friends in the much broader defense of liberty. For much longer than many other nations and most other nations, Spain has been a part of United States history and indeed we have been a part of Spain's history. As we look back over the time, that history has been one full of discovery for both sides. It has been an experience rich in harmony and discord. I was able to talk to the President before as we reviewed that history and after his speech today. It has been a history that has been characterized by wars fought against each other and wars fought alongside each other. We have had the opportunity to celebrate together the creation of new democracies. We have celebrated together the defense of existing democracies, of old democracies. Together, as we look back over the last several years, we have faced the gravest threats to the security of free people, and through that togetherness and that partnership we have prevailed, advanced, and progressed. In our hour of need, our response to the acts of terrorism, September 11, 2001, acts that the President referred to--he referred to that day as a terrible day, reflecting, as he did today, that the principles that were attacked that day were the principles Spain had and the United States had, both countries have, and those very principles and values were attacked. I believe he used the words ``brutally attacked.'' In our hour of need, the Spanish people showed us a solidarity, a friendship, and a compassion that very much were the medicine for the soul of our Nation. Spain--and the President reflects this--has very much been our ally in every sense of the word. It was wonderful for us to be able to welcome him today and to listen to his comments in the Halls of the Capitol of the United States of America. For me and many others, in the course of the day, as business has progressed on the floor, we have been centered on the response to the ricin attack in the Dirksen Building now a little over 48 hours ago. I am happy to report that everybody is doing fine. A few hours ago I made an announcement that the postal system and that people in the postal system, both inside our buildings and inside our grounds, but also outside, are doing fine, which is very good news. I say that because it is important to realize that this agent ricin is a deadly agent. It is a life-threatening agent and, through exposure, could have hurt many people. As I said earlier but want to reinforce, we are making great progress in the collection of mail and in examining the Senate office buildings. Officials have moved aggressively. They have moved in an almost symphonic fashion to respond to this insult. As I previously announced, the Russell Office Building will open tomorrow at noon, the Hart Office Building will open Friday at 9 a.m., and the Dirksen Office Building, Monday at 7 a.m. Staff have been patient. Staff have been understanding. Staff have adapted to this terrible incident, working at home and working wherever they can find a space, sometimes in the hallways. I do want to thank my colleagues and the staff for responding in this fashion. I have previously mentioned that every time I go through the list in my own mind, I leave people out, but all the various people who are working together through the Sergeant at Arms' Office, the Office of the Secretary of the Senate, especially the Capitol Police, the U.S. Marines who are here with us, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Joint Terrorism Task Force, the Department of Homeland Security, the Environmental Protection Agency, the various law enforcement agencies that have responded, the postal workers, the postal system across the United States of America in what has truly been remarkable when we think of what we have gone through, with anthrax 2\1/2\ years ago and a number of other incidents. Looking back over the 200-year history of this wonderful celebrated building, probably the most celebrated building in the world, the place has been burned down essentially, has been attacked, has been assaulted again and again, but the institution itself, just like the people who are here, who are working here every day, has responded with a resiliency that is truly remarkable. There is a toughness and an ability to bounce right back. We have not missed a step in terms of conducting the Nation's business in spite of the really tragic occurrence of the last several days. I will close on this particular issue, again talking about my own staff who responded so admirably. I have my own staff who are in the mailroom, and when they see something is not quite right, they use procedures that they have been trained in and that we have all focused on very much in terms of our procedures. They immediately responded appropriately and handled that operation in an appropriate way with evaluation of the room, notification of the appropriate personnel, and the appropriate response. Without that, people could have been hurt and could have died. It is nice to be able to see that and commend the people working in such an environment. Unfortunately, these are the realities we have seen, anthrax 2\1/2\ years ago, ricin today, Capitol Police officers assaulted in this building and killed not too long ago. The resiliency is truly remarkable in this great institution.

Mr. FRIST

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, under a previous order, we will be in morning business until 10:30 a.m., as mentioned. At 10:30 we will begin the highway bill. As mentioned yesterday, it will be very important to address this bill and spend the appropriate time this week and through next week with the objective of completing this bill by the end of next week. It is a very important bill in terms of supporting our infrastructure throughout this country, in terms of providing that infrastructure to support our economy, and also to create jobs. It is a very important bill. The relevant committees met yesterday. Some of those committee meetings will be affected by the closure of the office buildings today, but we will have further announcements on the committee meetings a little bit later this morning. We will be here today, and I do encourage Members to make their opening statements today. We will have a comment shortly on the policy luncheons today within the next several minutes after I speak with the Democratic leader. ricin finding I will comment very quickly--because there are a lot of questions and a lot of news reports--as most people know, in midafternoon yesterday, a powder that was ultimately determined to be ricin was found in my personal office building. Everything was handled in a very appropriate way in terms of the screening tests that have been established, and ultimately, after a series of tests of what are called specificity and sensitivity tests, confirmatory results came back last night at around 9:30 that this was ricin. There will be a lot of discussion in the news and around here as to what ricin is. As I mentioned last night, it is a type of what we call a toxin or a poison. It is not a virus, and it is not a bacteria, so a lot of people say it is not biological, but it is made from a castor bean. Somebody, in all likelihood, manufactured this with an intent to harm, and this is a criminal investigation that will be underway. As everyone knows by now--or we hope they know--we made a decision, based on the procedures that are quite thorough and comprehensive, to close the three Senate office buildings today. Meetings have continued through the night and today over the course of this morning thus far. Further decisions will be made about reopening those buildings. The real purpose of that is that the mail be addressed in an appropriate way in those buildings. Let me also say that all air sampling and all environmental studies today are negative with the exception of what was found in that single office at that site. With that, I think I will stop to say we will have our activity here on the floor of the Senate. The Capitol Building is open today, and individual committee chairmen will be announcing what the plans are with hearings that were scheduled today in the Senate office buildings. Most of those will be closed. At this time I will turn to the Democratic leader. We will likely be making other announcements over the course of the morning.