Gus Michael Bilirakis is an American lawyer and politician serving as the US representative for since 2013.
33 Facts About Gus Bilirakis
2.
Gus Bilirakis's district includes much of the northern portion of the Tampa Bay area.
3.
Gus Bilirakis previously served as the Florida state representative for the 48th district from 1998 to 2006.
4.
Gus Bilirakis was born in Gainesville, Florida, and grew up in Tarpon Springs, Florida, the son of Evelyn and Michael Gus Bilirakis.
5.
Gus Bilirakis's grandfather owned a local bakery where Bilirakis worked from a young age.
6.
Gus Bilirakis graduated from Tarpon Springs High School and St Petersburg Junior College.
7.
Gus Bilirakis then attended the University of Florida, where he graduated in 1986 with a bachelor's degree in political science.
8.
Gus Bilirakis received his JD degree from the Stetson University College of Law in 1989.
9.
Gus Bilirakis was an intern for US President Ronald Reagan.
10.
Gus Bilirakis's father served in Congress from 1983 to 2007, and Gus helped run his campaigns.
11.
Gus Bilirakis was first elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 1998 when he won the District 48 seat held for 10 years by Representative Sandy Safley, R-Clearwater, who decided not to run again.
12.
In 2006, Michael Bilirakis announced his retirement after 24 years in Congress, and Gus Bilirakis entered the race to succeed his father in what was then the 9th District.
13.
Gus Bilirakis has been reelected three more times without substantive opposition.
14.
Gus Bilirakis is a member of the Republican Party's Whip Team and is Chair of the Veterans' Affairs Task Force for the Republican Policy Committee.
15.
Additionally, Gus Bilirakis serves as a co-chair of the Congressional Military Veterans Caucus and the Congressional Caucus on Hellenic Issues.
16.
Gus Bilirakis is a signer of the Taxpayer Protection Pledge and a pledge sponsored by Americans for Prosperity promising to vote against any climate change legislation that would raise taxes.
17.
On September 29,2008, Gus Bilirakis voted against the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008.
18.
In 2022, Bilirakis voted against naming a federal building in Florida after Joseph W Hatchett, the first Black State Supreme Court judge in Florida and south of the Mason-Dixon line.
19.
Gus Bilirakis supports repealing the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.
20.
On February 11,2017, Gus Bilirakis hosted a townhall in Pasco County, Florida, where he was faced with several protesters angry over the potential repeal of the Affordable Care Act, when a member of the local party, Bill Akins repeated the now debunked claim that the ACA contains "what is effectively known as death panels".
21.
In early October 2018, Gus Bilirakis released a campaign advertisement touting his work fighting opioids in Pasco County, Florida.
22.
The 30-second ad flashed text about a "Gus Bilirakis INTERDICT ACT" as Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco said Gus Bilirakis is "giving us the tools to do our job and get traffickers off the street".
23.
Gus Bilirakis voted in favor of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.
24.
From 2015 to 2016, Gus Bilirakis accepted $2,000 in direct campaign contributions from the NRA's Political Victory Fund; As of 2017, he has an "A" rating from the NRA, indicating a voting record that is generally pro-gun rights.
25.
In March 2017, Gus Bilirakis voted for the Veterans Second Amendment Protection Act, which, if signed into law, would prohibit, in any case arising out of the administration of laws and benefits by the Department of Veterans Affairs, any person who is mentally incapacitated, deemed mentally incompetent, or experiencing an extended loss of consciousness, of the right to receive or transport firearms, without the order or finding of a judicial authority of competent jurisdiction.
26.
Gus Bilirakis said that, specifically, he would support more school resource officers in schools.
27.
Gus Bilirakis announced his support for legislation that would ensure "that those who are mentally ill do not have access to weapons".
28.
On October 1,2020, Gus Bilirakis co-signed a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that condemned Azerbaijan's offensive operations against the Armenian-populated enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, denounced Turkey's role in the Nagorno-Karabakh war, and called for an immediate ceasefire.
29.
In December 2020, Bilirakis was one of 126 Republican members of the House of Representatives to sign an amicus brief in support of Texas v Pennsylvania, a lawsuit filed at the United States Supreme Court contesting the results of the 2020 presidential election, in which Joe Biden defeated incumbent Donald Trump.
30.
Many of the signers of the Texas v Pennsylvania amicus brief objected to the certification of the 2020 Electoral College vote, but Bilirakis was absent due to contracting COVID-19.
31.
Gus Bilirakis voted against impeachment, calling it "politically motivated" and a "highly polarizing ruse that will only further divide Americans".
32.
Gus Bilirakis has four children and is an Eastern Orthodox Christian.
33.
In 2014, Gus Bilirakis had a cameo as a job applicant in the feature film Walt Before Mickey starring Thomas Ian Nicholas, Jon Heder, and Armando Gutierrez.