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Michael Bilirakis

MICHAEL BILIRAKIS, Republican Congressman from Palm Harbor in Florida's Ninth District, was first elected to Congress on November 2, 1982 and has been re-elected to each succeeding Congress. His committee assignments in the 105th Congress include membership on the key House Commerce Committee, where he serves as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Health and Environment, and also as a member of the Energy and Power Subcommittee. Mike is also a member of the Veterans' Affairs Committee and serves as the Vice-Chairman of its Subcommittee on Health.

Recognized as a national leader on health reform and on issues affecting seniors, Mike enjoyed a productive 104th Congress. He was one of the primary authors of the Health Coverage Availability and Affordability Act and guided its passage through Congress. Now law, it makes health insurance more accessible and affordable by allowing insurance portability from job-to-job. It also limits exclusions on pre-existing conditions. Mike also co-authored the Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments, which are now law, to protect the purity of our nation's drinking water by focusing regulatory efforts where they are most needed. As the Health and Environment Chairman, Mike was able to negotiate an agreement on the Food Quality Protection Act to protect the quality of our food supply. He also introduced legislation to reauthorize the Ryan White Care Act, which is now law.

As a member of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, Mike has helped secure additional resources for Florida's veterans - including $20 million for a spinal cord injury unit in Tampa and a more equitable resource allocation method recently implemented by the VA. In the 104th Congress, his legislation to pro-rate veterans' disability compensation checks to the day of death was expanded to allow their widows to keep the entire month's check.

In the past, Mike has served as Chairman of the Task Force on the Elderly and has been a leader in the fight against infant mortality. He has also held memberships on the Congressional Human Rights Caucus and the Congressional Task Force on POW/MIAs. Mike has continually fought to protect the rights of our nation's veterans. In recognition of his efforts, he has received a number of national awards, including the L. Mendel Rivers Award of Excellence from the Air Force Sergeants Association, the Inspirational Leadership Award from the Military Order of the Purple Heart and the AMVETS Silver Helmet Award.

Born in the Ninth District, in Tarpon Springs, on July 16, 1930, Mike and his parents, Emmanuel and Irene, Greek immigrants, left the area shortly thereafter. The family moved to Clairton, Pa., near Pittsburgh, where Mike grew up and attended school. After high school, he passed up college scholarship offers to work in the steel mills to help support his family. He later enlisted in the Air Force and served for four years.

After leaving the military, Mike studied engineering at the University of Pittsburgh. Upon graduating in 1959 with a B.S. degree in engineering, he began working with the Federal Power Commission in Washington, D.C. In that same year he married Evelyn Miaoulis of Tarpon Springs. Mike and Evelyn have two children, Manuel and Gus. Manuel is a medical doctor practicing in Palm Harbor and Gus is an attorney.

In 1961, Mike returned to Florida and earned a law degree from the University of Florida two years later. He then worked in the aerospace industry as a contracts administrator responsible for the Centaur program, the booster rocket that placed the first unmanned spacecraft on the moon. In 1969, he opened his own law practice in Holiday, Florida, invested in land and small businesses and taught several courses at local community colleges. Later, he accepted appointments as a county and a municipal judge.

In 1982, at the urging of friends, associates and residents of the newly-formed Ninth District, Mike accepted the challenge of his first Congressional race. He credits strong traditional values, close family ties and avid community involvement for his victories in 1982 and in subsequent re-elections. In his terms in Congress, Mike has carried those personal values to the national forum, supporting Social Security and federal retirement programs, reforming health care, education initiatives, aid to the victims and families of Alzheimer's disease, a strong national defense, Congressional accountability and a balanced federal budget.

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