Committee assignments, Legislation and Sunshine

Gus Bilirakis had a letter in the Tampa Tribune on February 9th listing his committee assignments and the legislation he is introducing. Here's the link:

http://www.tbo.com/pasco/MGBDTDRZXXE.html

He also introduced a bill last week which would give tax breaks to businesses that hire reservists. Here's a link:

http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2007/02/TNSreservejobs070207/

We need to follow up with Gus' office and find out how he feels about the president's budget which will hurts veterans in several ways. Sorry I don't have a link. I heard Congressman Jack Spratt discuss the budget on C-Span last week.

Also on February 9th, Bill Adair had a column in the St. Pete Times on the Tampa Bay Congressional delegation making their schedules public. Here is a blurb from that column followed by the link:

Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite, R-Brooksville, is opposed because of personal safety. She said she did not want to give locations of her meetings for fear that she could be a victim of a stalker.

"I'm not against sunshine, I'm for safety," said Brown-Waite. "You need to be very careful when you're in the public eye."

Rep. Gus Bilirakis, R-Palm Harbor, raised the same concerns until I explained that Tester and Gillibrand posted their schedules at the end of the day, after the meetings have been held. Bilirakis said he would consider the idea.

http://www.sptimes.com/2007/02/09/Worldandnation/Some_lawmakers_let_a_.shtml

Committee Assignments - Hot Off The Press!

Weapons of Mass Discussion has posted the Republican House committee assignments today. Our very own Rep. Gus M. Bilirakis (sounds pretty formal, doesn't it?) received the following (wait for it) assignments:

Homeland Security
Veterans Affairs

Yep, our boy Congressman Gus, who couldn't find the Port of Tampa with a road map is going to be on Homeland Security. I feel safer already. Actually, this one makes me damn glad the Dems are in control of Congress.

Come to think of it, I'm a veteran and I don't feel all that great about Gus (did he ever serve in the military?) on Veterans Affairs. Anyway, this is another good reason to be glad the Dems are in control. My, there's lots of those aren't there.

So, there you have them folks. You can keep an eye on these two committees at the Daily Kos Congressional Committee Project among other places.

So Happy Gus watching!