Capitol Hill workers deal with latest scare
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Senators Frist, left, and Daschle talk to reporters on Tuesday about the ricin scare.
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From CNN's Jennifer Coggiola in Washington:
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- It's the latest substance scare to hit Capitol Hill in 2 1/2 years. And though many senate staffers stayed home, for some it was business as usual, while others even had a sense of humor about it.
It wasn't Tuesday's nasty D.C. weather that kept folks away from the Capitol.
Some senate staffers took the news of a possible ricin attack on Capitol Hill in stride.
"Some people get a snow day and we get a biological weapons day!" one pair of staffers told CNN.
Others took advantage of the day off.
"I'm actually going to grab another staffer and we're going to see a movie," another said.
Several expressed their trust that every precaution is being taken.
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"I'm not worried about me ... I'm sure there are exceptional people taking care of this right now," said one young staffer.
Another echoed those sentiments saying, "I think the Capitol Police and the Postal Service take extremely good precautions against this sort of thing ... and I don't feel unsafe at all."
Despite the chaos, there was still work to do.
"We have a transportation bill on the floor ... And the Senate is trying to conduct business as usual ... We're just trying to figure out what's going on to see if we have votes or not," a staff member told us.
Sen. Elizabeth Dole found a dry spot indoors to work at the Capitol, while Sen. Charles Schumer tried to make do at home.
"This house, where I've lived for 20 years with three other Congress members doesn't have any computer hook-up," Sen. Schumer lamented.
Meanwhile, House representatives' offices remained open with the exception of mail service. Important letters went unanswered and undelivered.
The Capitol Crypt, usually swarmed with tourists, was virtually a ghost town. Visitors were forced to take in the dreary view from afar.
The latest update to staffers reinforced that under no circumstances are they to handle mail. It also instructed any staff with health concerns to go to the CDC Web site for information on ricin.
