Federal, state, and local government officials were on hand Thursday for the City of Vine Grove’s second annual legislative breakfast.
The event provided an opportunity for members of the Kentucky General Assembly from local districts to provide an update on their work during the most recent session and to connect with local officials.
House District 25 Representative Steve Bratcher said of the more than 1,100 house and senate bills that went before the general assembly, about 200 passed. Bratcher said the Hardin County area is an area in transition with recent and future growth and efforts to reduce the strain are necessary, but the area is in a good place.
“We should really, really consider ourselves very fortunate and take some of the things that we’re given and the opportunities that we have and utilize that to move our area and our community forward,” Bratcher said. “There’s some organizations or some communities that are really suffering right now, and so we are in the trajectory of growth, so that’s a great place to be.”
House District 27 Representative Nancy Tate discussed her work on several legislative caucuses, including efforts on the Aerospace and Aviation Caucus. Tate said more than 600,000 pilots and more than 650,000 airplane mechanics will be needed in the next ten years, and she said she wants to make sure Kentucky can be a critical part of the industry.
“Did you know that in 2019 and actually today, our number one export in Kentucky is aerospace and aviation materials?” said Tate. “This is obviously near and dear to my heart. In 2019, we exported $11 billion worth of materials for aviation and aerospace.”
Kentucky Second District Congressman Brett Guthrie was unable to attend but was represented by District Manager Mark Lord, who discussed some of Guthrie’s legislative priorities. Lord also said Guthrie has been able to send $25 million to $30 million back to the Second District each of the last several years through congressionally-directed spending.
“We can have opportunity for members of Congress to redirect money that would otherwise be spent by the administration to be directed by their members of Congress rather than the administration,” Lord said. “That’s a good thing, especially when it doesn’t have one additional dollar to the federal spending.”
Elizabethtown Mayor Jeff Gregory, Radcliff Mayor JJ Duvall, Vine Grove Mayor Pam Ogden, and West Point Mayor Richard Ciresi each expressed their appreciation for the availability of area representatives.
