New Leaders, Chairs & Committees

New Leaders, Chairs & Committees

The Senate Republican Caucus recently elected its new leadership team, who immediately went to work on assigning committee leadership and membership.  I'm honored that the Senate Leadership has again appointed me as Judiciary Committee Chairman.  The committee has shown leadership on critical issues, most recently on juvenile justice legislation that is now a national model for reform. I look forward to continuing that work over the next two years.  I'm glad to announce that I'll be joined by Senator-Elect Will Schroder as Vice Chair.

Be sure to follow this blog or follow me on Twitter or Facebook to stay up to date on our work throughout the session!

KENTUCKY SENATE LEADERSHIP MAKES 

COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS FOR 2015 SESSION;

CHAIRS, VICE-CHAIRS NAMED AS WELL 

Frankfort –     Kentucky State Senate Majority Caucus Chair Dan Suem (R-Fairdale) announced today the assignments of its members to the Kentucky State Senate Standing Committees for the upcoming 2015 General Assembly session, including the selection by Majority Leadership of the chair and vice-chairs for each of the committees.  The Appropriations and Revenue, Health and Welfare, and Veterans, Military Affairs & Public Protection committees all have new chairs and vice chairs.  

Senator Seum said new assignments to the committees were necessary following the election in November 2014 of  six (6) new senators, all Republicans, which increased the number of the majority caucus to twenty-six (26), the largest number in the caucus’ history. Two (2) new members in the majority caucus’ leadership team also contributed to changes being made, Senator Seum said, as members in leadership traditionally do not serve as committee chairs or vice-chairs, due to time constraints.   

Senator Chris McDaniel (R-Taylor Mill) will serve as chair of Appropriations and Revenue, and Senator Stan Humphries (R-Cadiz) has been selected as the vice-chair. Senator McDaniel replaces retiring Senator Bob Leeper (I-Paducah), while Senator Humphries will fill the spot previously held by Senator David P. Givens, who is now the majority caucus’ nominee for Senate President Pro Tem. 

Senator-Elect Julie Raque Adams (R- Louisville), who voters elected to replace retiring Senator Julie Denton (R-Louisville), was also selected by her caucus’ leadership to replace Senator Denton as the chair of the Health and Welfare Committee. Vice-Chair of the Health and Welfare Committee will be Senator-Elect Ralph Alvarado (R-Winchester), who is also a medical doctor. 

The Veterans, Military Affairs & Public Protection Committee will be chaired by Senator Albert Robinson (R-London); his vice-chair will be Senator-Elect C.B. Embry. VMAP was previously chaired by Senator Jimmy Higdon (R-Lebanon), who is now serving in Senate Leadership as the Majority Caucus Whip. 

Other senators selected as chairs and vice-chairs of Senate Standing Committees are as follows:

Agriculture Committee:

Chair,    Senator Paul Hornback

Vice-Chair, Senator Carroll Gibson. 

 

Banking and Insurance:

Chair, Senator Tom Buford 

Vice-Chair, Senator Jared Carpenter  

 

Economic Development, Tourism and Labor Committee: 

Senator Alice Forgy Kerr, Chair

Senator Chris Girdler, Vice-Chair

 

Education Committee:

Mike Wilson, Chair, 

Senator-Elect Max Wise, Vice-Chair

 

Judiciary Committee:

Senator Whitney Westerfield, Chair, 

Senator-Elect Wil Schroder, Vice-Chair

 

Licensing, Occupations and Welfare Committee:

Senator John Schickel, Chair 

Senator Paul Hornback, Vice-Chair

 

Natural Resources & Energy:

Senator Jared Carpenter, Chair, 

Senator Brandon Smith, Vice-Chair

 

State and Local Government Committee:

Senator Joe Bowen, Chair

Senator Stan Humphries, Vice-Chair

 

Transportation Committee:

 Senator Ernie Harris, Chair

Senator Brandon Smith, Vice-Chair

 

All of the Senate Standing Committees are listed below, with a complete listing of the appointments of majority caucus members by the Senate Majority Leadership members:

 

Agriculture

Paul Hornback, Chair

Carroll Gibson, Vice-Chair

Majority Senate Members:

C.B. Embry 

Chris Girder

David P. Givens

Stan Humphries

Damon Thayer

Whitney Westerfield

 

Appropriations & Revenue

Chris McDaniel, Chair

Stan Humphries, Vice-Chair

Majority Senate Members:

Ralph Alvarado

Danny Carroll

Carroll Gibson

Chris Girdler

David P. Givens

Wil Schroder

Brandon Smith

Max Wise

 

Banking & Insurance

Tom Buford, Chair

Jared Carpenter, Vice-Chair

Majority Senate Members:

Julie Raque Adams

Chris Girdler

Chris McDaniel

Albert Robinson

John Schickel

Dan “Malano” Seum

 

Economic Development & Labor

Alice Forgy Kerr, Chair

Chris Girdler, Vice-Chair

Majority Senate Members:

Carroll Gibson

Ernie Harris

Jimmy Higdon

Wil Schroder

Mike Wilson

Max Wise

 

Education

Mike Wilson, Chair

Max Wise, Vice-Chair

Majority Senate Members:

Julie Raque Adams

Jared Carpenter

Danny Carroll

Carroll Gibson

David P. Givens

Jimmy Higdon

Alice Forgy Kerr

 

Health & Welfare

Julie Raque Adams, Chair

Ralph Alvarado, Vice-Chair

Majority Senate Members:

Tom Buford

Danny Carroll

David P. Givens

Jimmy Higdon

Alice Forgy Kerr

Max Wise

 

Judiciary

Whitney Westerfield, Chair

Wil Schroder, Vice-Chair

Majority Senate Members:

Danny Carroll

Carroll Gibson

Alice Forgy Kerr

John Schickel

Dan “Malano” Seum

Robert Stivers 

 

Licensing & Occupations

John Schickel, Chair

Paul Hornback, Vice-Chair

Majority Senate Members:

Joe Bowen

Tom Buford

Jimmy Higdon

Chris McDaniel

Dan “Malano” Seum

Damon Thayer

 

Natural Resources & Energy

Jared Carpenter, Chair

Brandon Smith, Vice-Chair

Majority Senate Members:

C.B. Embry

Chris Girdler

Ernie Harris

Paul Hornback

John Schickel

Whitney Westerfield

 

State & Local Government

Joe Bowen, Chair

Stan Humphries, Vice-Chair

Majority Senate Members:

Julie Raque Adams

Ralph Alvarodo

Chris McDaniel

Albert Robinson

Dan “Maleno” Seum

Damon Thayer

 

Transportation

Ernie Harris, Chair

Brandon Smith, Vice-Chair

Majority Senate Members:

Joe Bowen

Jared Carpenter

C.B. Embry

Jimmy Higdon

Albert Robinson

Whitney Westerfield

Mike Wilson

 

Veterans, Military Affairs & Public Protection

Albert Robinson, Chair

C. B. Embry, Vice-Chair

Majority Senate Members:

Carroll Gibson

Ernie Harris

Stan Humphries

Chris McDaniel

Dan “Malano” Seum

Whitney Westerfield

Mike Wilson

Max Wise

 

KYTC - Hopkinsville Traffic Advisory

KYTC - Hopkinsville Traffic Advisory

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet sent out a traffic advisory Monday night that warned of delays along Ft. Campbell Blvd.  The full alert is below:

A contractor for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet plans to halt traffic for brief periods along US 41-Alernate/Fort Campbell Boulevard near Lovers Lane in Hopkinsville starting Wednesday, December 3, 2014.

All traffic on US 41-Alternate will be halted near the Lovers Lane Intersection from time to time to allow blasting on the Lovers Lane improvement project.  The contractor will be using explosives to loosen rock to allow trenching for a water lane adjacent to the new section of roadway.

Flaggers will stop traffic briefly about 1/4th mile on each side of the intersection when explosive charges are being detonated.  These occasional traffic stoppages are expected to continue during daylight hours for approximately one week.

Motorists may avoid these brief closures on US 41-A/Fort Campbell Boulevard by traveling the Breathitt-Pennyrile Parkway between Interstate 24 and the US 68 Hopkinsville Bypass.

 The Lovers Lane (CR-1652) Reconstruction Project is designed to improve connections between US 41-Alternate and the Breathitt Pennyrile Parkway while providing improved access to the Hopkinsville Convention Center entrance.

Westate Construction of Hopkinsville is the prime contractor on the $1,993,975 transportation improvement project.  Completion is expected in mid-August, 2015.

We Need You All, Just Not As Many

We Need You All, Just Not As Many

Secretary of Defense, Chuck Hagel, visited Ft. Campbell this week to address soldiers and installation commanders about two topics straight from global headlines, Ebola and the ordered force drawdown.  Here is an excerpt of his remarks, courtesy David Snow with The Eagle Post:

“You all understand the perils, the threats, the challenges that face our country.

The world is shifting and changing the world order. It’s shifting like we’ve never seen before. The velocity of that change is unprecedented.

The challenges and threats that face our country in the world today are not just from Islamic fundamentalist terrorists. Yes, that is a threat that we are dealing with. But pandemic health diseases and pandemic health traits threaten the world like Ebola is part of that world scope of threats.”
— Sec. of Defense Chuck Hagel

The article went on to report that Secretary Hagel told the soldiers that Ft. Campbell "has unique capabilities that no other institution in the world has."

Why, then, is the installation facing potentially enormous troop drawdowns?  The Secretary seems to describe a global military theater that needs all the might we can provide.

Image Courtesy Ft. Campbell, U.S. Army

Image Courtesy Ft. Campbell, U.S. Army

The national security concerns alone warrant maintaining current service member levels, before you even begin an analysis of the relatively less important (but impossible to overstate) economic peril to West Kentucky and North Central Tennessee.

The Secretary, with all due respect, appears to be speaking from both sides of his mouth. I do not approve.

UPDATED:  Today's news that the 159th Combat Aviation Brigade, stationed at Ft. Campbell, will be deactivated.  Ft. Campbell will see a 2400 troop reduction by the end of the 2015 fiscal year.  Senators Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul, and Rep. Ed Whitfield released this joint statement today (Nov. 20th, 2014), one that I fully agree with:

“We are deeply disappointed by the Obama administration’s decision to remove the 159th CAB from Fort Campbell. It is bad news for our nation’s security and for the local Fort Campbell community. Our military’s readiness and national security must remain the highest priority for the American people, and for Fort Campbell’s troops and families in the great Commonwealth of Kentucky. We believe that cuts need to be made in places other than deployable troops as a means to make smart cuts to government spending. We also must not allow our number of troops to fall to the dangerously low levels being sought by the Obama Administration, especially at a time of increasing instability in the world.”
— Sen. McConnell, Sen. Paul and Rep. Whitfield


The Line In The Sand

The Line In The Sand

I have never believed that I was disciplined enough to be a soldier, sailor, airman or marine.  I certainly never believed I was physically fit enough.  I have looked at the branches of the armed forces with equal parts curiosity and awe.  The culture appears, from my limited perspective, wildly different than our day-to-day.  For those serving in desert-like conditions (or elsewhere), even if we normalize for scorched earth, our military men & women live in a very different world.  Authority, rigorous calls of duty, honor, rigorous mental preparation, loyalty, uniquely challenging training, discipline; these are some of the hallmarks of military service.  With all due respect to my fellow legislators, I cannot say the same about the Kentucky General Assembly, or any other unit of government.  Those traits, those qualities, are the rule in the military.  Outside the military, they are the exception.  Those men and women were once like us, but for various reasons each one volunteered to step out of the comfortable path and onto a path marked with sacrifice, struggle, blood and death.  No, perhaps these men and women were never like us to begin with.  What they choose to do is special, and, to those of us with a mere fraction of their courage, difficult to grasp.

On Veteran's Day I attended a joint lunch between Hopkinsville's Kiwanis and Rotary clubs.  Our guest speaker was Col. David "Buck" Dellinger, Garrison Commander of Ft. Campbell, home of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault).  Col. Dellinger gave a resounding call for support for the U.S. Army and her companion branches of service.  This call for support is important to everyone in Christian County and the surrounding counties and communities of Western Kentucky, and sister communities in Tennessee.  We each certainly share an economic tie to the installation and her compliment of service members and civilian workers, but more deeply we feel a sense of responsibility to the service members and their families.  Our communities give time, money and muscle to the men and women of the service and their families.  We cook meals and celebrate returns home.  We comfort and lift up in prayer the loved ones that return permanently changed, and the loved ones of those that never return at all.  This is the least we can do.

Col. Dellinger said something during the meeting that struck a chord with me.  He made reference to the line we've heard on the airwaves recently, "boots on the ground."  The Colonel said he was one of the first 500 soldiers on the ground in Kuwait in Operation Desert Storm.  He referenced distant support from aircraft and surface fleets in the Gulf, but that it was the troops on the ground that made the greatest impact.  "Those soldiers drew a line in the sand and dared the enemy to cross."  My Veterans Day came to a grinding halt with this imagery.  Air and sea superiority are certainly mission critical, but seeing in my mind these men and women standing at the front - quite literally the front line - staring the enemy head on and daring them to cross it.  These men and women are heroes.  Superheroes.  They do that for us.  Every. Single. Day.

Be thankful for courageous women and men who choose to leave the comfortable path for the front line.  They do it for you.