Bond returns to office after anthrax scare

Sen. Kit Bond Oct. 24 returned to his office in the Senate Russell Office Building, reopened after extensive testing found no anthrax contamination.

"I never thought I would be so happy to see a full e-mail in-box," said Bond, who has been heavily lobbying the Bush Administration at all levels to ensure that Boeing wins the upcoming Joint Strike Fighter contract.

"I am proud of the Senate for staying in session throughout this ordeal. We sent the right signal to the terrorists that nothing can stop us from doing the work of the American people."

While the Russell Building opened Oct. 24, the two remaining Senate office buildings remained closed. They are the Dirksen and Hart Office buildings, both of which were contaminated with anthrax.

Anthrax was detected in the Senate's mailroom in the basement of Dirksen, and the fifth and sixth floors of the southeast quadrant of the Hart Building were contaminated by a letter mailed to Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle's office. The Hart and Dirksen buildings will remain closed until they are decontaminated.

Bond asked Missourians who wish to contact his office to use e-mail, the fax and phone. Regular postal mail will be delayed until the Senate adopts new mail-handling procedures.

While the Russell Office Building was closed, Bond worked from his small, private office located in the U.S. Capitol itself, which remained open throughout the anthrax scare. Joining Bond in his private office were several staff members.

"In that 12-by-17-foot room we had six staffers, seven cell phones, two laptops, two yellow pads of paper everything but a partridge in a pear tree," Bond said. "That mixed with the Senate's long schedule is a recipe for cabin fever but we survived on good humor."

Bond volunteered some of his office space in the Russell Buildings to his colleagues still locked out of their offices in the Hart and Dirksen buildings. The Senate Republican Policy Committee, which is coordinating the sharing of office space, has indicated that Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Alabama, will share Bond's office space.