In an exclusive interview with The Floridian, Representative Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) discussed housing reforms for active-duty military and veterans, expressing confidence in the Secretaries of War and Veterans Affairs under President Donald Trump to carry out this agenda.
Reminding that both Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Secretary of Veterans Affairs Doug Collins are military veterans, Rep. Bilirakis shared that they "can identify with veterans." Additionally, he spoke of approaching Hegseth at a Christmas party to discuss Rep. Bilirakis's Major Richard Star Act. He further described both men as "more hands-on" in combating waste and fraud.
The biggest issue, however, that Rep. Bilirakis believes needs to be addressed is housing for servicemembers and veterans because "those houses are old, and they have mold." In particular, he cited ongoing issues at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, where the children of military personnel have fallen ill due to the prevalence of mold in servicemembers' on-base houses.
"So we need to upgrade," the Florida Congressman commented. "We need to spend a lot of money on that."
Bilirakis said MacDill was not an isolated case, as "I think we need to take a look at housing on all of the bases, because they are all having these different problems. A lot of it is environmental, the weather situation, but a lot of it is old."
Notably, some barracks and houses were built in the wake of World War II. Bilirakis says he discusses this issue with veterans on a regular basis, "and they say, 'gosh, our families are not safe due to the mold.'"
Nevertheless, he described how "we had a grand opening in Pasco County, in New Port Richey, and I got $4 million from the federal government," to open 30 new housing units for low-income veterans in recent weeks, and mentioned a similar housing program in Oregon, which aims to provide 177 housing units for low-income veterans.
