The Tampa Tribune - U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis coasted to victory and a second term Tuesday, defeating Democratic challenger Bill Mitchell, a 61-year-old employment lawyer from Carrollwood.

Bilirakis, who served eight years in Florida's House of Representatives, is a genuinely humble politician willing to reach across the aisle to get things done. He is not a rubber stamp for his party or the Bush administration, having bucked both the president and his leadership in voting against the Wall Street rescue plan.

On September 18, the U.S. House of Representatives approved legislation (H.R. 6064) that includes key portions of a bill sponsored by U.S. Rep. Gus M. Bilirakis (R-Fla.) to create a federal grant program to help states establish silver alert notification systems to help find missing seniors. 

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.

WASHINGTON — Shortly after Rep. Gus Bilirakis took his seat on the House Veterans Affairs Committee, the Democratic chairman pulled him aside.

Back when Republicans were in charge, Rep. Bob Filner told him, Bilirakis' father worked with him to make headway on veterans issues despite opposition from the conservative Republican who then was chairman.

Filner was, in his own words, touched.

"I took it as a kindly thing. Congress doesn't see a lot of kindly things," he said.

So when Bilirakis was elected in 2006 to replace his father, Mike, "I said look, your dad gave a lot … and I want to say thank you to your dad by helping you," Filner recalled. "So that's what we've been doing."