Legislators unfazed by latest scare

WASHINGTON – One Colorado lawmaker now wants his staff to wear surgical gloves when opening mail. Senators from New Jersey say they prefer correspondence to arrive in the future via e-mail or on a postcard.

But Maine’s members of Congress intend to stay the course. They want their staffs to simply continue following FBI protocol when sorting through incoming mail and watching out for the telltale signs that merit a second look at suspicious packages and mail.

It’s something that the office of Sen. Olympia Snowe has been doing ever since the Persian Gulf War 10 years ago.

“We have always made sure the staff is trained to deal with suspicious packages and mail,” said Snowe spokesperson Dave Lackey, who says the senator’s Washington office receives up to 1,000 pieces of mail each week.

Still, the Capitol Hill police aren’t taking any chances this week after discovering on Monday morning that Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle’s office had received a letter containing a suspicious substance.

Immediately after the substance tested positive for anthrax in two preliminary tests, the sergeants at arms from both the House and Senate told lawmakers to turn over all unopened mail for screening.

The incident sounded a wake-up call for continued vigilance. “The event ripples through all the offices here,” Lackey said.

The story will be pretty much the same for all of Maine’s lawmakers, whose offices received a faxed advisory to watch out for mail that has been heavily sealed or taped. The warning, drafted by the FBI and Capitol Hill police, recommends that staff members watch out for incorrect titles and incomplete return addresses. Other causes for concern include strange odors, lopsided or excessive postage and oily stains.

“We all have those advisories on our desk now,” said Doug Dunbar, spokesman for Rep. John Baldacci. The incoming mail at the congressman’s Maine offices was not recalled, he said. “Still, we’re being especially cautious and not having interns open the mail,” he added. “We want staff people making the judgments.”

“We’re just following some simple guidelines to make sure that we screen things,” noted Mark Sullivan, press aide to Rep. Tom Allen.

Lackey said that the apparent anthrax incident shouldn’t cause many changes, and that he hopes that mail keeps flowing in. “Senator Snowe wants to hear from her constituents,” he said. “If that’s by mail, that’s fine, because she believes in carrying on as best we can in our normal lives.”