Hello Friends,
As we wrap up 2024, I want to wish you a Happy New Year filled with joy and happiness!
New Congress Begins in 2025
Looking ahead to the new year, I will take the oath of office on January 3, 2025 as part of the 119th Congress, also marking my 45th anniversary of representing the people of southern and eastern Kentucky – a role that I am humbly honored to continue.
The new Congress will look a little different; Republicans regained control of the Senate with a 53-47 majority and held onto the House majority with a slim 220-215 margin.
As Dean of the House, I also have the privilege of swearing-in our House Speaker with each new Congress. Our current Speaker Mike Johnson has navigated difficult issues with a historically narrow majority. The House Speaker’s role is vital to our duties on January 6th, when we will certify the election of our 47th President of the United States Donald J. Trump. We cannot afford to delay the electoral mandate of the American people with another extended search for a new leader in the House. Speaker Johnson has my full support, along with the endorsement of President-elect Donald Trump, and I look forward to swearing him in once again as our House Speaker on January 3rd, if he maintains the speakership.
American Relief Act
Over the last several months, we passed several monumental bipartisan bills in the House, including the American Relief Act. The legislation continues federal funding through March 2025, avoiding a government shutdown during the holidays, and giving our new members of Congress the opportunity to be a part of the funding process. The bill, which was signed into law, prioritizes emergency disaster relief funds and extended relief for American farmers for another year. Click here to learn more.
Water Resources Development Act
This Congress also passed the bipartisan Thomas R. Carper Water Resources Development Act (WRDA). I voted for the bill, which authorizes $75 million for water resources infrastructure projects in Kentucky. It includes flood risk management along the Kentucky River and directs the Army Corps to expedite completion of a flood warning emergency evacuation plan along the Kentucky River. The legislation also directs the Army Corps to develop guidance to standardize fees administered for real estate, including marinas. Click here to read more.
Judge Siler Courthouse Annex
Separately, WRDA also included legislation that U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell and I introduced earlier this year, designating the federal courthouse in London, Kentucky as the "Eugene E. Siler, Jr. United States Courthouse Annex." Judge Siler's trusted leadership on the federal bench for nearly 50 years, has garnered the respect of the nation's highest office with judicial appointments by two U.S. Presidents.
National Defense Authorization Act
Earlier this month, the House also authorized defense funding for next year, focusing on improving the quality of life for our military servicemembers. The Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement and National Defense Authorization Act provides a pay raise for our American heroes, including a 14.5% increase for junior enlisted servicemembers. It also authorizes $97.8 million for four military construction projects in Kentucky. While the NDAA doesn’t include funding, it provides the blueprint for defense priorities, guiding our military leaders to focus on protecting this great nation, rather than catering to woke ideology.
2024 Overview of Funding for Southern and Eastern Kentucky
I was proud to secure significant funding for Kentucky’s Fifth Congressional District this year, including some exclusive projects in southern and eastern Kentucky.
My requests for $86 million in Community Project Funding earmarks were signed into law earlier this year, providing vital funding for 15 projects in our region, including funding to help build new homes for 2022 flood survivors and a Kentucky River Flood Mitigation Study. Nearly $21 million for water and wastewater system improvements were included for Boyd, Clay, Harlan, Floyd, Lawrence, Martin and Rowan counties, plus more than $10 million for space science programs in Morehead and Hazard, and $2 million for Operation UNITE’s substance abuse prevention treatment programs. Click here to learn more.
Several road projects will be fast-tracked with federal funding from 2024, including $45 million for the Northern By-pass in Somerset and $116 million for the final 13-mile stretch of the Mountain Parkway Expansion from Magoffin to Floyd County. I am also thankful to Senator McConnell and our state legislature for leading a study to four-lane the Hal Rogers Parkway between London and Hazard, to improve safety and prepare for economic development in our rural region.
At the 2024 SOAR Summit, I was pleased to announce more than $30 million in federal grant funding to help revitalize Kentucky’s Appalachian region. Twelve new grants were awarded as part of the Abandoned Mine Land Economic Revitalization (AMLER) Program that I launched in 2016. Since inception, I have helped secure a quarter of a million dollars, exclusively for Kentucky coal communities, through the grant program. Click here to see all the projects that received funding this year.
I also invited leaders from the Economic Development Administration (EDA) to join me at the 2024 SOAR Summit in Pikeville to announce a $40 Million EDA grant for SOAR. The non-profit successfully competed for EDA’s largest grant, to launch the Eastern Kentucky Runway Recompete Plan, which will be used to connect Eastern Kentuckians to employment opportunities in remote jobs and expand pathways to higher-paying careers. Special thanks to Kentucky’s General Assembly and Craft Philanthropy for providing matching funds for the grant. Click here to read more here.
As a result of our hard-fought efforts to clean up the region and remove mountains of litter from our hillsides, lakes and streams, we can now focus more on ramping up our tourism efforts. In fact, the National Park Service recently determined that 35 counties in our region are eligible to be designated as the Kentucky Wildlands National Heritage Area, which will provide technical assistance and federal funding for our region. I appreciate U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell for joining me in the effort to lead mirroring legislation through this Congress.
The Appalachian Regional Commission also awarded $12 million in POWER grants this year for ten projects in Kentucky’s Appalachian region, enhancing healthcare, fueling innovation and business development, while also improving our education pipeline and career-readiness. Read more here.
In October, Bureau of Prisons Director Colette Peters published her official Record of Decision, approving construction of a new medium-security prison facility and camp in the Roxana community of Letcher County. Property acquisition and design work will take about one year before construction can begin. The BOP currently employs more than 1,300 people in Kentucky’s Fifth Congressional District, investing more than $83.7 million each year in wages in our region. Click here to learn more.
Steering Committee
In Washington, I serve as a senior member of the House Steering Committee that selects the leaders of each subcommittee. Kentucky’s congressional delegation continues to gain strength in Washington as well, becoming key members of the committees that they are a part of. Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02) earned the gavel for the House Subcommittee on Energy and Commerce for the upcoming Congress. I am confident that Chairman Guthrie will work hard to protect American energy production, and I wish him the very best in his new leadership role. Congressman James Comer (KY-01) will maintain his chairmanship of the House Oversight Committee as well, where he continues to lead with excellence. Congratulations to my Kentucky colleagues!
Kentucky to DC
Closing out the year, my entire congressional staff from Kentucky joined me on Capitol Hill to learn more about the history of this great nation and how we can enhance our work on behalf of Kentucky’s Fifth Congressional District. House Speaker Mike Johnson graciously opened his ceremonial office to welcome our Kentucky staff as well.
In memory of the recent anniversary of Pearl Harbor, we laid a wreath in the Arlington National Cemetery at the gravesite of a Kentucky hero, CPHM James Thomas Cheshire (USN), who was killed in action at Pearl Harbor.
In addition to helping eastern Kentuckians with federal issues, my staff is also available to help constituents with visits to Capitol Hill, including tours of the Capitol building. If you are planning to attend the Presidential Inauguration or have other plans to visit Capitol Hill in the coming year, please stop by my office in the Rayburn House Office Building or call 202-225-4601 for assistance with your visit.
Sincerely,
Hal Rogers
Dean of the House
WASHINGTON D.C. OFFICE
2406 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
202-225-4601 (office)
202-225-0940 (fax)
SOMERSET OFFICE
551 Clifty Street
Somerset, KY 42503
606-679-8346 (office)
606-678-4856 (fax)
PRESTONSBURG OFFICE 110 Resource Court, Suite A
Prestonsburg, KY 41653
606-886-0844 (office)
606-889-0371 (fax)
ASHLAND OFFICE
341 16th Street
Ashland, KY 41101
606-467-6211 (office)
HAZARD OFFICE
48 S. KY Hwy. 15
Hazard, KY 41701
606-439-0794 (office)
606-439-4647 (fax)
