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CNN Live Saturday

Mailroom of House of Representatives' Ford Building Tests Positive for Anthrax

Aired October 20, 2001 - 15:02   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: President Bush says his heart goes out to the families of two American military personnel killed in the helicopter accident in Pakistan. From Shanghai in China, where he is attending the Asia Pacific Economic Summit, Mr. Bush said the two U.S. military personnel died in a cause that is just and is right. He also said the U.S. and its allies will prevail.

More now what we're getting out of Capitol Hill, and that anthrax scare again continues to be unsettling. There is more news at this hour and for that back to Washington and CNN's Kate Snow. Kate, what do we know?

KATE SNOW, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well good afternoon, Bill. What we know right now is that House Speaker Dennis Hastert, according to his spokesman, fully intends to bring the House back in session on Tuesday as planned. That news coming to CNN this morning.

As you mentioned, a couple of new pieces of information, and a new discovery of anthrax in one of the House office buildings here, testing positive that there has been anthrax in that building. That latest discovery is in the Ford office building. That's one of the several buildings that hold facilities for the United States House of Representatives, about a half mile from the U.S. Capitol itself, and that's where all of the mail for any House members comes to.

There is a mailroom in that building, and indeed, it is that mailroom that has tested positive for anthrax, and one specific machine in that mailroom that sorts the mail has tested positive. Anyone in that mailroom has now been told that they should be tested, they should have nasal swabs taken just to be sure whether they have been exposed or not, and they may be put on antibiotics as well.

But before mail goes to that Ford House office building, it passes through another place, and that is the central mail facility, an intake facility, about 15 blocks south of the United States Capitol. Yesterday, we took these pictures of people looking at that facility, environmental teams going into the facility. We know now, we can confirm that that facility also has been found to be contaminated with anthrax spores. They have also found positive tests in that building.

The U.S. Capitol Police spokesman briefed here a short time ago, and he said: "Look, it is not a big surprise that this has been found now on the House side of the Capitol."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's important to realize that this was not an unexpected situation. We've been trailing the mail to the Capitol complex now for quite some time, and after the discovery in the Hart and the Dirksen, and also at the U.S. Capitol Police off-site delivery center, testing was done at the Ford Center mailroom.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SNOW: The Hart and the Dirksen that he refers to refer back to two Senate-side buildings. That's where that letter to Tom Daschle originally came through, that letter opened on Monday in the Hart building. And again, Bill, to be very clear, that is the only place that people have been found exposed to anthrax, is people who were in that Hart office building, right in and around Senator Daschle's office at the time that that letter was opened. Back to you, Bill.

HEMMER: And Kate, tell us this: Dennis Hastert, the House speaker, when he declared midweek that the House would vacate and come back on Tuesday of this coming week, any indication of what would determine whether or not, indeed, they did come back on Tuesday?

SNOW: No. At that time, what they wanted to do -- and what they are doing -- is an environmental sweep of all of the building on this campus just as a precaution, just to be safe. And you heard Lieutenant Nichols say that they fully thought that they might find a little more evidence of anthrax.

One really important note, Bill, is that all the mail comes into the U.S. Capitol from the United States Post Office. If you send a letter to anybody on Capitol Hill, it's going to go to that one place, that place where you saw the guys in white suits. And it's possible that things just intermingled in the system, and that may be why there are positive readings coming up in other buildings.

It is simply unclear at this point, Bill, whether that's the reason, or whether there might have been a separate package.

HEMMER: Got it. OK, Kate. Thank you very much. Kate Snow from Capitol Hill.

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