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CNN: Amid lawmakers' concerns, officials say U.S. nuclear plants are safe
Any plans to build a nuclear power plant in an area of the United States prone to earthquakes should be reconsidered in light of the damage to Japanese reactors by last week's earthquake and tsunami, Democratic Rep. Ed Markey of Massachusetts told CNN on Monday. "We just have to call a time out and examine whether or not those safety features necessary in the future are built into new nuclear power plants in our country," said Markey, who sits on the House committee overseeing nuclear power. In response, the chairman of the independent Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which regulates U.S. reactors, said the plants were built to withstand earthquakes and other natural disasters.

CNN: Nuclear energy lobbyists scramble on Capitol Hill
Lobbyists for the nuclear energy industry rushed to Capitol Hill Monday to try to reassure members of Congress and their aides who are deeply concerned about the nuclear crisis in Japan, and what it could mean for nuclear energy in the U.S. As he walked the halls of Congress going from meeting to meeting, Alex Flint, a top lobbyist for the Nuclear Energy Institute, told CNN that the industry's immediate goal was to give worried lawmakers as much information as possible. "We're trying to make sure people understand exactly what's occurring – understand the context under which they're going to be making decisions in the future about the way in which the Congress wants to treat nuclear energy," Flint told CNN.

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