CAPITOL HILL

Congress evacuated but eager to return

By Susan Milligan, Globe Staff, 9/12/2001

ASHINGTON - Congressional leaders were whisked off to secret, separate locations yesterday, a dramatic move designed to protect lawmakers from possible followup attacks after terrorists flew highjacked airliners into the Pentagon and World Trade Center.

Capitol Hill was a combination of chaos and determination, as police ordered an unprecedented evacuation of the Capitol and all House and Senate office buildings. Terrified tourists poured out onto the streets, some screaming.

Stunned and shaken, members of Congress digested the frightening possibility that they, too, might have been intended victims of yesterday's attacks.

Amid the mayhem, many members of Congress urged a speedy return to work, anxious to show the terrorists that they could not shut down the US government. Congress is scheduled to reconvene this morning, with the first order of business being a resolution condemning yesterday's deadly attacks.

''We're ready to walk back up there right now,'' said Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr., Democrat of Delaware, gesturing toward the Capitol. ''This is a horrible incident. The American people have a right to be repulsed by it, revolted by it.

''But it is not the end of anything,'' Biden said. ''It is not the end of our way of life. We will in fact find these people. We will pursue them. And we will deal with them.''

Sirens pierced the air as police checked congressional buildings for bombs. Some lawmakers - such as Representative Richard E. Neal, Democrat of Springfield - ordered their staff out of the office soon after the World Trade Center attacks. Other lawmakers were briefly escorted back into their offices by police to retrieve personal items.

Within an hour, Capitol Hill was virtually emptied, cordoned off by yellow police tape and lines of officers, some with machine guns. By midday, horror had turned to anger among members of Congress, who were second-guessing US intelligence and antiterrorism capabilities and demanding justice.

''This is total war,'' said Senator Richard C. Shelby, Republican of Alabama and a member of the Intelligence Committee. ''We're very vulnerable. I think this is a wake-up call for America, a very sobering call.''

Senator Robert C. Byrd, Democrat of West Virginia, said he wasn't surprised by the attacks. ''Just look at us: We're wide open,'' he said, referring to the level of security in Washington.

Byrd said he never attends a joint session of Congress, including the State of the Union address, because he thinks it is a tempting target for terrorists.

With nowhere to meet or exchange information - cellular phone service was spotty - members of Congress wandered the area or went home, returning sporadically for briefings by Capitol police.

''We have lulled the American people into a false sense of complacency,'' said Representative Curt Weldon, Republican of Pennsylvania, who was at a press conference calling for higher defense spending when the evacuation was ordered. ''Now, we're paying the price.''

Even as lawmakers decried the attacks, they seemed frustrated at the chances of finding a solution. Such an attack by a nation would almost certainly result in a declaration of war, they said, but punishing a terrorist group would be a more difficult proposition.

''This is the most serious, destructive, and coordinated terrorist attack in American history,'' said Representative James P. Moran, Democrat of Virginia. ''It changes our attitudes forever.''

Representative Mark Foley, Republican of Florida, said, ''It's too early to determine whether it's an act of war, but it's as close as it gets.''

This story ran on page A20 of the Boston Globe on 9/12/2001.
© Copyright 2001 Globe Newspaper Company.