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By GUS BILIRAKIS
Every 40 seconds, someone in America has a stroke. In fact, it is the third leading cause of deaths in the nation. Each year, during the month of May, Americans band together, not only to share their support in the fight against stroke, but also raise awareness of how it can be treated, and more importantly, prevented.
By GUS BILIRAKIS
April is National Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention month. We see the heart-wrenching and troubling stories on the news about victims of sexual assault, but it becomes even more disturbing when we realize that it is even happening in our own community.
The Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Facility Authorization and Lease Act, H.R. 5856, would provide leasing authority to the VA for up to 20 years and authorize nearly $13 million in Fiscal Year 2009 for a new 50,000 square-foot multi-specialty outpatient clinic in the city of Brandon, Fla. and a new 100,000 square-foot primary care offsite facility for the James A. Haley VA Medical Center (VAMC) in Tampa, Fla.
Florida is working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on the agency's design and construction standards for community shelters. The state believes that FEMA's 361 standard for shelter construction is too rigorous for the force of winds that hurricane shelters in Florida generally encounter.
The Issue
Yesterday, Congressman Bilirakis introduced The Silver Alert Grant Program Act of 2008 (H.R. 5898). If enacted, this program would provide U.S. states and territories the opportunity to establish ‘Silver Alert' notification systems to locate missing individuals suffering from dementia-related illnesses.
In March, the Tampa Tribune wrote about the need for a 'Silver Alert' in Florida...
The Amendment, which the House adopted by a voice vote, would also set a date certain for the program to be enacted, and would require the Guard to provide a cost analysis for a Coast Guard and DHS-wide deployment of the biometric collection program in the most appropriate manner.
The Amendment, which the House adopted by a voice vote, would also set a date certain for the program to be enacted, and would require the Guard to provide a cost analysis for a Coast Guard and DHS-wide deployment of the biometric collection program in the most appropriate manner.
The Silver Alert Grant Program Act of 2008 would establish a grant program within the Department of Justice to allow states with an approved application to obtain federal funding for the establishment of Silver Alert programs or to make improvements to existing ones. Additionally, the legislation would require the U.S. Attorney General to report to Congress on the experiences of states with existing Silver Alert systems to help guide their establishment in other states.
Yesterday, in recognition of the 38th anniversary of Earth Day, Gus joined students in school throughout Hillsborough County as they set a world record for the most trees planted within an hour on Earth Day.
If they meet their expected goal of 10,450 trees planted in an hour tomorrow, Hillsborough County Public Schools will set a world record. The previous record of 4,100 trees planted worldwide in one hour on Earth Day was set in 2005.