WASHINGTON – With National Guard troops patrolling the streets and the
Pentagon still smoldering, the government reopened Wednesday with many federal
workers returning to their jobs and Congress reconvening.
Camouflaged Humvees carrying military police were posted on street corners at
many downtown intersections. Security officers inspected trunks of employees'
cars entering government parking garages. Supreme Court officers huddled in
groups, checking packages more closely than usual. Other federal courts were
open.
A dozen FBI agents searched a grassy area near where an airliner crashed
Tuesday morning into the Pentagon, bending down and looking under tree branches
for evidence.
"Most people are here," said Chris Paulitz, a spokesman for the Environmental
Protection Agency, which has about 7,400 employees spread among three buildings
downtown and one across the Potomac River. "We're up and running and not being
deterred in any way."
Employees at the Agriculture Department's main building along the National
Mall were evacuated about 9 a.m. but were allowed back in an hour later. Reports
of unidentified aircraft in Canadian airspace prompted the evacuation, Chris
Gomez, deputy director of the department's office of operations, told employees.
A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Canadian Air
Force was tracking three unidentified aircraft over Canada but that the United
States was not greatly concerned.
At the Interior Department, also near the Mall, employees were told to seek
safety in the basement due to the reports. By 9:15 a.m., the perceived danger
had ended and employees returned to their offices, department spokeswoman
Stephanie Hanna said.
Federal monuments on the Mall were closed while officers scoured them for any
possible threats, but were expected to reopen by midday.
President Bush ordered the government to reopen, and federal workers were
given the option of heading back into work. Some also were told they were free
to leave at any time to donate blood.
"The federal government and all our agencies are conducting business, but it
is not business as usual," Bush said. "We are operating on heightened security
alert. America is going forward, and as we do so, we must remain keenly aware of
the threats to our country."
There was tight security at the Energy Department's headquarters, but
spokesman Joe Davis said the department was resuming regular work. Some workers
remained home under the governmentwide liberal leave policy, he said.
Senior DOE officials were looking closely at ways to counter reports of
gasoline hoarding and price spikes around the country. The department was
expected to address the issue later in the day.
Both the Senate and House reconvened to take up a resolution condemning the
attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center by terrorists who hijacked
airliners and crashed them into the buildings.
Traffic backed up from the Capitol at least 10 blocks up Pennsylvania Avenue
and in other directions. Capitol police were checking every car, asking for IDs,
searching trunks, looking in backseats. Some barricades also were up.
Schools and some museums remained closed. Area universities opened. The
subway was running but not stopping at the National Airport station. Below
ground, commuters were met with red-lettered "Security Alert" signs.
Shirley Derricotte, who helps run a snack shop in the Treasury Department,
located next to the White House, said she felt jittery about coming to work
Wednesday in the wake of the attacks.
"I was very nervous that something else could happen," she said. But that
didn't stop her from opening the snack shop right on time at 7:15 a.m. "They are
not letting the construction workers in today because they don't have permanent
badges. So it's been very slow."
AP-WS-09-12-01 1138EDT