Senate Building Finally Reopens

Anxthrax Letter Had Kept Hart Building Closed Since October

(CBS)  Senators and staff returned Tuesday to an office building shut for three months by anthrax contamination. "I go in with confidence and a prayer," said Sen. Joseph Lieberman.

That mix of caution and optimism was typical for the politicians and employees reclaiming the nine-story Hart building, home to offices of half of the 100 senators.

"I feel completely safe," said Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, whose office received the anthrax-laden letter that spurred the building's shutdown Oct. 17, said after re-entering the building Tuesday.

Speaking to staffers in his new, temporary office, Daschle said: "It's good to be back. It's good to be confident that we can return to normalcy."

Daschle, D-S.D., won't be able to return to his real office — where the letter was opened Oct. 15 — until the carpeting and furniture are replaced, which is expected to take until mid-March.

The reopening promised something Sharon Davis, a cashier at Hart Sundry, hasn't seen for a while: a steady flow of customers into her store located only about 50 feet from the plywood barrier separating her corridor from the Hart building.

"I was a little antsy about coming in here — you didn't know what the situation was and you still don't," said Davis. She felt the same in late October when the store reopened after a few weeks of being closed.

"It had the smell of wet mildew, so I was scared to come back," she said.

Added Lieberman, D-Conn., "Life has its risks, and I think they've tried to reduce them as much as humanly possible."

Nearby, Rep. Mike Pence greeted employees Tuesday who assisted in the cleanup of his office in the Longworth House Office Building, where four members had offices closed since October because of anthrax contamination.

Stacks of notepads, binders and boxes were strewn about the office, which received new furniture and carpeting during the cleanup. "It's now just down to unpacking," said Pence, R-Ind.

Following repeated delays, the 1-million-square-foot Hart building was declared safe last week after several attempts to decontaminate it with chlorine dioxide, a toxic gas.

The building's reopening marked a major step in Congress' return to normalcy following a tumultuous autumn.

The Capitol was evacuated Sept. 11 during the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington and two days later because of a bomb scare. In addition, all six of the major House and Senate office buildings were closed for at least short periods while investigators searched for — and sometimes found — more anthrax.

Officials estimated the anthrax cleanup in Hart and other congressional buildings cost $14 million through December.

After the Daschle letter was opened, thousands of workers were treated with antibiotics as a precaution. No one has been reported to have taken ill.

No one has been arrested in the case.