ARMENPAC - The Armenian American Political Action Committee

About Gus
Gus M. Bilirakis Republican was elected to Congress on November 7, 2006 and represents Florida’s Ninth Congressional District, which includes portions of Pasco, Pinellas, and Hillsborough counties.

Prior to being elected to Congress, Gus was overwhelmingly elected to four terms as a member of the Florida House of Representatives. During his tenure in Tallahassee (1998-2006), he chaired several prominent panels, including Crime Prevention, Public Safety Appropriations, and the Economic Development, Trade, & Banking Committee, gaining valuable expertise that benefit his constituents today.

In Congress, Gus works to make homeowners’ insurance more affordable, improve education, lower taxes, increase access to quality health care, protect veterans’ benefits, ensure the long-term viability of Social Security and Medicare, make government smaller and smarter, and strengthen homeland security.

His bipartisan work has also helped him to pass many of his own legislative initiatives in the U.S. House of Representatives during his first term. In August 2007, President Bush signed into law a package of homeland security measures, including two proposed by Gus, which address public transportation and rail security. This marked his first legislative initiatives to become law as a freshman member of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Currently, Gus serves as a Member of the House Committees on Homeland Security, Veterans’ Affairs and Foreign Affairs. Additionally, Gus is the Senior Freshman Whip of the Republican Party and is Chair of the Veterans’ Affairs Task Force for the Republican Policy Committee.

Gus earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Florida in 1986, and a J.D. from Stetson University in 1989. He lives in Palm Harbor with his wife, Eva, and sons Michael, Teddy, Manuel, and Nicholas.

On Armenian Issues
Gus was elected to Florida’s ninth district congressional seat in November 2006, succeeding his father Michael Bilirakis who represented the district for over two decades. Michael was one of the strongest supporters of Armenian issues and was also a member of the Armenian Caucus.

Gus, following in the footsteps of his father, also became a member of the Armenian Caucus in January 2007 and was an early co-sponsor of H. Res 106, the resolution to officially recognize the Armenian Genocide. As a relatively new Member, ARMENPAC looks forward to many more years of advocacy and support for issues most important to the Armenian community.

In his short time in Congress, Representative Gus Bilirakis has proven himself to be a reliable and loyal friend to the Armenian American community and is a deserving recipient of ARMENPAC’s August 2008, Member of the Month Honor.