The cost of cleaning anthrax from congressional buildings has hit an estimated $14 million, according to a senator who says he has questions about “the fiscal integrity of this operation.”
In a letter to Environmental Protection Agency chief Christie Whitman, Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) said his staff was given the figure by an EPA official.
Of the total, $13.4million was for cleaning the Hart Senate Office Building, where an anthrax-filled letter to Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) was opened Oct. 15. The building, which houses the offices of 50 of the 100 senators, including Grassley, has been closed since Oct. 17.
Senate officials announced Friday that, after several delays, the Hart building was scheduled to reopen Tuesday.
Grassley’s letter asked Whitman to provide details of how the cleanup money was spent.
“In a task of such large magnitude, costs can very easily escalate and there can be a tendency to run up the tab,” he wrote.
