V E TE R AN S AFFAI R S & M I LITARY M E D I CI N E O UTLO O K
INTERVIEW
U.S. REP. GUS M. BILIRAKIS, R-FLA. Vice Chairman of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee and Co-chairman of the Military Veterans Caucus
By Rhonda Carpenter
n CONGRESSMAN GUS M. BILIRAKIS represents Florida’s 12th Congressional District. He is currently serving his sixth term in the U.S. House of Representatives. Bilirakis serves on the Energy and Commerce Committee and is vice chairman of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee. He is co-chairman of the Military Veterans Caucus and a member of the Congressional Veterans Jobs Caucus. He requested a seat on the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, because of his commitment to advocate on behalf of veterans and their families in the U.S. Congress. In his role as vice chairman of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee and member of the Health Subcommittee, Bilirakis continues to ensure the nation’s heroes remain a top priority. Prior to being elected to Congress, Bilirakis served four terms in the Florida House of Representatives (1998-2006), where he chaired several panels, including Crime Prevention, Public Safety Appropriations, and the Economic Development, Trade, and Banking Committee. Bilirakis earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Florida in 1986 and a J.D. from Stetson University in 1989. He interned for President Ronald Reagan and the National Republican Congressional Committee, and worked for former U.S. Rep. Don Sundquist, R-Tenn. He also currently teaches government classes at St. Petersburg College.
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■■ Rep. Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., is the vice chairman of the Veterans’
Affairs Committee and co-chairman of the Military Veterans Caucus.
and guardsmen, dependents, surviving spouses, and surviving dependents; provides full eligibility to Post-9/11 Purple Heart recipients; restores eligibility for service members whose school closes in the middle of a semester; and creates a pilot program to use the GI Bill for certain high-technology courses. Additionally, the bill contained a provision I
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VIA THE WEBSITE OF WWW.SPEAKER.GOV
Veterans Affairs & Military Medicine Outlook: Could you briefly explain what the “Forever GI Bill” is? Also, could you highlight one or two of its most popular provisions that help veterans utilize their educational benefits? U.S. Rep. Gus M. Bilirakis: This important new law will improve and extend GI Bill benefits while maximizing flexibility for the veteran and their family. Most importantly, the bill removes the expiration date by which a veteran previously had to use his or her GI Bill benefits. Future recipients will be able to use their GI Bill benefits their entire lives. The Forever GI Bill also increases GI Bill funding for reservists
