Washington, DC -- Senator Daniel K. Akaka (D-HI), Ranking Member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia, requested a thorough review and report of the Department of Defense's (DoD) handling of the anthrax incident that occurred earlier this week. In a letter sent to DoD Inspector General Joseph Schmitz yesterday, Senator Akaka requested that information be provided on the protocols used by DoD in handling hazardous mail incidents and DoD's coordination with other federal agencies, including DHS.

"I was disturbed to learn that an alert was first received on Thursday, March 10th and that DoD did not notify the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) or the U.S. Postal Service until March 14th," said Senator Akaka.

In 2001 Akaka, who formerly chaired the Senate postal subcommittee, held hearings on the anthrax attacks using the U.S. mail.

"Given the five anthrax-related deaths in 2001, and the severe disruption and financial costs to the government, it is difficult to fathom why DHS was not notified earlier or how a DoD-affiliated laboratory could have cross-contaminated the test samples. Significant amounts of tax dollars have been spent to date to coordinate emergency response and enhance crisis management," Senator Akaka said.

On Monday, March 14, 2005, mailroom sensors at the Department of Defense Remote Delivery Facility (RDF) and at a leased facility in the Skyline office complex indicated the presence of anthrax. Employees were evacuated from the RDF, and employees at the Skyline facility were locked-down for several hours. Approximately 700 DoD workers and contractors were advised to begin antibiotic treatment, and mail service to several agencies, including the U.S. Congress, was temporarily halted. Subsequent tests have come back negative.