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WASHINGTON (13 February) – U.S. Rep. Gus M. Bilirakis (R-Fla.), representing Florida's 9th Congressional District, today released the following statement after the House passed the Conference Report to H.R. 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act:
"Our nation is in recession and millions of Americans are hurting, which is why Congress should have put politics aside, and gotten this right.
Last evening, the U.S. House of Representatives approved legislation (H.R. 632) that includes key portions of a bill sponsored by Gus to create a federal grant program to help states establish silver alert notification systems to help find missing seniors.
By Billy House, The Tampa Tribune
WASHINGTON - U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis of Palm Harbor has been picked to be his party's top congressional watchdog over the Department of Homeland Security.
Bilirakis is to be named today as the ranking Republican on the Democrat-controlled House Committee on Homeland Security's Subcommittee on Management, Investigations and Oversight.
As Ranking Member, Bilirakis and the Subcommittee will investigate and report on the Department of Homeland Security's anti-terrorism and disaster response efforts, personnel management procedures, and procurement process. In addition, Bilirakis will serve as a member of the Homeland Security Committee's Subcommittee on Border, Maritime, and Global Counterterrorism.
"Our nation is facing a serious economic crisis and I believe we must do all we can to get our economy moving in the right direction again. Last year, Florida ranked second nationally with 255,000 job losses. This is precisely why Congress should be considering a stimulus bill which creates jobs; unfortunately we are instead considering a federal spending spree.
Gus presents Congressional Appreciation Award
On Friday Gus presented the Congressional Appreciation Award to Robert L. Bouschor of Safety Harbor for his for dedicated service in the United States Naval Armed Guard during World War II.
"I strongly opposed the bailout from the beginning and I oppose this attempt to facilitate the expenditure of TARP funds. The bill which passed the House today will expand the types of institutions that can receive TARP funds and increase the power of the Treasury to spend taxpayer funds with little accountability to the American people," said Bilirakis. "Congress should not release additional TARP funds without a clear strategy for deploying the remaining funds effectively and in a way that protects taxpayers."
The Amendment comes on the heels of a Congressional report indicating that the recent refusal of certain private financial institutions to provide any accounting of how they are using taxpayer money undermines public confidence.