Bilirakis Blog

Learn More About Medicare Open Enrollment

Wednesday, 21 November 2012 10:35

Medicare is a vital program serving thousands of Florida seniors. Congressman Bilirakis is committed to working across the aisle to develop a plan, so future generations will receive the care they expect and deserve and those 55 and older see no changes.

This year, Open Enrollment for Medicare is earlier than usual. Now through December 7, seniors can learn about any changes to Medicare, make sure they are getting the best coverage, and if needed, switch to a different health or prescription drug plan. Using this time to review all of your options is highly recommended, even if you don't make any changes, because comparing plans might save you money. 

For assistance and information regarding benefits and plan options, call Medicare toll free at 1-800-MEDICARE or visit www.medicare.gov. As your link to the federal government and its programs, Congressman Bilirakis' office also stands ready to answer any questions you may have regarding this or any other issue. Please feel free to call 727-773-2871 at any time for more information.

Congressman Bilirakis Urges Senate to Pass Bi-Partisan Legislation to Enhance Veterans’ Education Benefits

Friday, 16 November 2012 11:24

Before the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity, Congressman Bilirakis, Vice-Chairman of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, urges the U.S. Senate to pass H.R. 4057, which will increase veterans' access to valuable information on how to best use their GI benefits.

The American People Deserve to Know the Truth

Thursday, 15 November 2012 14:18

On September 11,  a heavily armed group executed a terrorist attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, killing Ambassador Chris Stevens, Sean Smith, Tyrone Woods and Glenn Doherty. The following remarks were prepared for delivery by Congressman Gus Bilirakis for today’s Foreign Affairs Committee hearing regarding these attacks:

Thank you Madam Chairwoman for organizing this important hearing regarding the tragic events in Benghazi, Libya.

I would like to express my extreme disappointment and frustration in the way this matter has been handled by the Administration and by Secretary Clinton, who has now twice declined invitations to testify before this committee about the attacks leading to the deaths of Ambassador Stevens and three other Americans. 

While Secretary Clinton and President Obama have both claimed responsibility for this event, we are still no closer to receiving an answer as to why it occurred. 

The American people deserve to know the truth about whether State Department officials had previously determined that the Benghazi facility had sufficient security, how the Administration dealt with reported pleas for increased assistance from personnel on the ground and why the Administration initially blamed the attack on a video rather than acknowledging it for what it was: a terrorist attack.

The American people want answers and deserve to hear them directly from the source – those who made the decisions on September 11.

Congressman Bilirakis Demands Answers Regarding Security Failures in Libya

Friday, 02 November 2012 15:46

Congressman Bilirakis, member of the Foreign Affairs Committee and the Congressional Anti-Terrorism Caucus, today joined over 50 of his Congressional colleagues in sending a letter to President Obama and U.S. Secretary of State Clinton to demand answers regarding the security failures that led to the September 11 terrorist attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya.  

The letter raises the following questions:

• Why did the Administration repeatedly deny requests for stronger security measures from U.S. personnel on the ground in Libya, especially in light of the escalating violence leading up to the September 11 attack?

• Why did the Administration withdraw elite Special Forces units from the Benghazi compound and seek to replace them with poorly paid local Libyan contractors, even after the compound had been bombed twice?

• Why did the Administration pursue what U.S. personnel on the ground described as a “cookie cutter” approach to security in Libya and impose an “artificial time table” toward “normalization” that ignored the dangerous facts on the ground?

Over seven weeks have passed since Ambassador Stevens, Sean Smith, Tyrone Woods and Glenn Doherty were murdered in a coordinated terrorist attack in Benghazi. The American public deserves to know why the pleas for increased security from personnel on the ground were routinely ignored.