Rep. Brett Guthrie Passionate about “Common Hope for Tomorrow”

Thursday, May 16th, 2013

Note from Bill Goodman: KET just returned from a trip to Washington, D.C., for a series of One to One interviews that began airing this week. My colleague Renee Shaw provides the highlights of tonight’s One to One interview with Rep. Brett Guthrie which airs on KET tonight at 6:30 ET.

When Bowling Green Republican Brett Guthrie ran for the Kentucky State Senate in 1998, his theme was a “Common Hope for Tomorrow.” After serving in the state legislature for nine years and serving as Transportation Committee chairman, he upgraded his lawmaker status to serve as 2nd District congressman in 2009.

Since the start of his stint in public office, Guthrie says, “people are still anxious about their ability to move ahead.” That’s his number one priority in Congress – which means jobs and the economy. “We need to make Washington work so people can see that government is not in the way,” he adds.

He’s been a staunch critic of the Affordable Care Act that he says is thrusting uncertainty on the business community. He believes that fears of increased healthcare costs are sure to stifle hiring and harm the economy.

During his interview tonight with Bill Goodman, Guthrie also discusses the importance of
immigration reform and why it’s critical to the farming community in his district.

Guthrie says Western Kentucky University (located in his district) has been aggressive in luring international students to campus, only to have many of the students return to their native countries with high-level skills and knowledge that the U.S. covets.

The second-term congressman is a 1987 economics graduate from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He served as a field artillery officer in the 101st Airborne Division – Air Assault at Fort Campbell. After his military service, he worked at Trace Die Cast, a manufacturing facility owned by his father based in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

Rep. Guthrie says his experience with struggling to find high-skilled workers for his father’s factory put him on a legislative quest to form policies and nurture apprenticeship programs for non-college bound kids who would rather move right into the workforce after high school.

Bill and Guthrie discuss these issues plus sequestration, gun legislation, and industrial hemp tonight at 6:30 ET on KET. Bill’s interviews with the congressional delegation resume at the same time Monday night with 3rd District Rep. John Yarmuth.

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Rep. Ed Whitfield Defends Coal and Fishing Freedoms

Wednesday, May 15th, 2013

Note from Bill Goodman: KET just returned from a trip to Washington, D.C., for a series of One to One interviews that began airing this week. My colleague Renee Shaw provides the highlights of tonight’s One to One interview with Congressman Ed Whitfield which airs on KET tonight at 6:30 ET.

Elected to Congress in 1994 as the first Republican to represent Kentucky’s First Congressional District, Hopkinsville native Ed Whitfield blasts President Obama for exacting environmental policies that, he claims, can effectively shutter the coal industry.

In the third of a series of interviews with Kentucky’s congressional delegation, Whitfield tells host, Bill Goodman, that President Obama’s tightened controls on mine permitting and coal-fired power plants point to a deliberate strategy aimed at shutting down the industry. Whitfield is the chairman of the Subcommittee on Energy and Power of the full House Energy and Commerce Committee. His western Kentucky district has underground coal mines.

Congressman Whitfield also discusses the “The Freedom to Fish Act” backed also by U.S. Senators Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul. It is meant to reverse the Army Corp of Engineers’ fishing restrictions at the Cumberland River system which ban public access to waters downstream of dams managed by the Corps.

On Washington gridlock, Whitfield explains why complex issues are hard to resolve given deeply held political ideologies, differing geographical backgrounds, and lack of outside socializing among members.

In fixing what he perceives as a “broken” budget process, Whitfield says Congress should work from the President’s plan and go to a biennial, or two-year, budget cycle.

Whitfield also discusses the Syrian conflict, immigration, and reviving gun legislation. Of the latter, Whitfield laments there are more pressing and important matters, and he predicts gun legislation will continue to stall out in the 113th Congress.

Watch Bill Goodman’s full interview with Congressman Ed Whitfield tonight at 6:30 ET. Tomorrow night, Bill talks with 2nd District Congressman Brett Guthrie.

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U.S. Sen. Rand Paul: Republican Revolutionary?

Tuesday, May 14th, 2013

Note from Bill Goodman: KET just returned from a trip to Washington, D.C., for a series of One to One interviews that began airing this week. My colleague Renee Shaw provides the highlights of tonight’s interview with U.S. Senator Rand Paul which airs tonight at 6:30 ET.

In April, Time magazine bestowed the dubious distinction of Kentucky’s junior U.S. Senator from Bowling Green as one of the world’s 100 most influential people. Former GOP Veep candidate and Alaska Governor, Sarah Palin, penned a glowing caption beside a black and white image of relative newcomer Rand Paul with arms folded, sans suit jacket and posing with a pensive gaze that suggests that he knows something we don’t.

Palin said of Paul in Time that he is a “…voice of reason awakening the public to what must be done to restore our prosperity and preserve the blessings of liberty for future generations.”

Paul’s meteoric rise to political stardom began with the 2010 mid-term elections, and his star shows no signs of dimming.

In fact, the Republican eye doctor and Tea Party favorite is relishing the chatter swirling around his presidential intentions and believes the speculation gives him a megaphone to influence the Beltway dialogue about issues foreign and domestic. In Bill Goodman’s engaging 30-minute interview with Senator Paul that airs tonight at 6:30 ET on KET, Paul answers questions about his presidential aspirations.

While Paul’s sights on the presidential post are still blurry, his vision on term limits remains sharp. He explains when he should vacate the US Senate seat, return home to practice medicine, and allow a newer voice to occupy the post.

Also in Bill’s interview, Paul admits to being frustrated by policy-making that he says is “obstructed by petty partisanship.” Puzzled by the scavenger hunt for grand bargaining, Paul says smaller items of bi-partisan agreement get overlooked: “There are many things both sides agree to. We just can’t seem to pass them because we have to vote on the whole package which is a thousand moving pieces…and I’m big on ‘why don’t we break it up into smaller bills?’”

Senator Paul also repeats a political mantra he believes should inform Republicans’ modus operandi in reaching the changing complexion of voters: “evolve, adapt or die,” says Paul of GOP minority outreach. Paul contends Republicans have done a poor job with connecting their message with the concerns and identities of the working class and minority groups.

“Those who are the most disadvantaged in our society – they’re the ones that get the worst effects from rising prices, and rising prices come from debt,” says Paul.

Learn more about Senator Rand Paul and his positions on an array of issues confronting Congress tonight at 6:30 ET in a special One to One with host Bill Goodman.

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