Praising Rick Scott, Gus Bilirakis Urges States to Review Responses to Nuclear Emergencies

From his perch as chairman of the House Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Response and Communications, Florida Republican U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis weighed in on the crisis Japan continues to face at nuclear power plants, and responses in the U.S. --including Gov. Rick Scotts actions in Florida.

"As the devastation continues in Japan, my thoughts and prayers continue to be with those affected by this terrible natural disaster, said Bilirakis. "I commend Florida Governor Rick Scott's proactive call to review emergency preparedness plans at the state's nuclear plants and urge other state leaders to take the necessary steps to ensure that effective response plans are in place should we face a disaster at one of our nation's nuclear plants. We must continue to review the response measures we have in place, including the most efficient way to distribute aid during such an emergency."

Bilirakis and his subcommittee will be tackling emergency responses on Thursday at ahearing called"Ensuring Effective Preparedness, Response, and Recovery for Events Impacting Health Security," when they will get testimony from Assistant Secretary of Health Affairs Alexander Garza with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Office of Health Affairs.