Steve Buyer: “I rise in support of H.R. 4264, a bill to name the Department of Veterans Affairs Spinal Cord Injury Center in Tampa…”

“I rise in support of H.R. 4264, a bill to name the Department of Veterans Affairs Spinal Cord Injury Center in Tampa, Florida, as the ``Michael Bilirakis Department of Veterans Affairs Spinal Cord Injury Center.'' Mr. Michael Bilirakis served in the United States Air Force from 1951 to 1955 and served Florida's Ninth District as Congressman for 24 years, from 1983 to 2007. As a veteran, Mike wanted to be a strong veterans' advocate in Congress, and specifically requested to be appointed to a seat on the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Those of us who served with Mike on the committee well remember his hard work on what the chairman just spoke about, the issue of concurrent receipt. Since his first introduction of the legislation in the 99th Congress to eliminate the offset of the military pension in order to receive the VA disability compensation, Mike consistently worked each Congress to have this legislation passed, including reintroducing the bill each consecutive Congress in which he had served.”