The grandchild of Greek immigrants, Rep. Gus Bilirakis understands the importance of a common language in a diverse country. Rep. Bilirakis, who is in his first term representing a district on Florida’s west coast, won the Congressional seat held by his father, Michael, from 1983-2007.

In this video, Rep. Bilirakis speaks of his experience growing up in the heavily Greek community of Tarpon Springs, Fla., and the importance of learning English at an early age.

U.S. English, Inc. is the nation's oldest and largest non-partisan citizens' action group dedicated to preserving the unifying role of the English language in the United States. Founded in 1983 by the late Sen. S.I. Hayakawa of California, U.S. English, Inc. ( www.usenglish.org ) now has more than 2 million members.