Ed Whitfield

Ed Whitfield
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Kentucky's 1st district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 1995
Preceded by	Tom Barlow
Personal details
Born	May 25, 1943 (1943-05-25) Hopkinsville, Kentucky
Political party	Democratic (1974-1994) Republican (1994-present)
Spouse(s)	Constance Whitfield
Residence	Hopkinsville, Kentucky
Alma mater	University of Kentucky
Occupation	attorney, railroad executive
Religion	Methodist
Military service
Service/branch	United States Army
Years of service	1967-1973
Rank	First Lieutenant
Unit	Reserves

Wayne Edward "Ed" Whitfield (born May 25, 1943) is the U.S. Representative of Kentucky's 1st congressional district, serving since 1995. He is a member of the Republican Party.

The district covers much of the western part of the state, including Hopkinsville, Paducah, Henderson and Kentucky's share of Fort Campbell.

Early life, education and career

Whitfield was born in Hopkinsville, Kentucky and attended the University of Kentucky for both undergraduate and law school, where he was a member of Delta Tau Delta Fraternity. He also attended the Wesley Theological Seminary. He served in the United States Army Reserve and reached the rank of First Lieutenant. He served as legal counsel to executives at Seaboard System Railroad of Washington. He served as a vice president for the later CSX Corporation in two different capacities and was the legal counsel to the chairman of the Interstate Commerce Commission from 1991 to 1993.

Kentucky House of Representatives

Whitfield gained his first political experience as a Democratic member of the Kentucky House of Representatives from 1974 to 1979.

U.S. Representative

Committee assignments

• Committee on Energy and Commerce
  • Subcommittee on Energy and Power (Chairman)
  • Subcommittee on Environment and Economy
  • Subcommittee on Health

Whitfield is a member of the moderate Republican Main Street Partnership. On his official website, he represents himself as a conservative who has consistently voted pro-life and "supports allowing students to engage in voluntary school prayer." He also lists military issues and encouraging the use of coal and nuclear power as substitutes for oil as two of his main priorities. The Sunlight Foundation pointed out that among the 435 members of the U.S. House of Representatives, Whitfield has the seventh-highest amount of investment in oil stocks.

He was one of three Republicans who voted for the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act in 2009.

When chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations within the Committee on Energy and Commerce, Whitfield held hearings on child pornography and flag burning.

He is the co-sponsor, with Fred Upton, of the “Energy Tax Prevention Act of 2011”.

Political campaigns

See also: United States House of Representatives elections in Kentucky, 2010

Whitfield had been a Democrat for most of his life, but in 1994 filed to run in the 1st District as a Republican. He defeated the 1992 Republican nominee, Steve Hamrick, in the primary, and then narrowly defeated freshman Democratic Congressman Tom Barlow by only 2,500 votes. He narrowly defeated Dennis Null in 1996 even as Bill Clinton carried the district, but hasn't faced a close race since.

Personal life

Whitfield's wife, Constance Whitfield, is a former Assistant Secretary of the Interior.

External links

• U.S. Congressman Ed Whitfield official U.S. House site
• Whitfield for U.S. Congress official campaign site
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Congressional profile at GovTrack
• Congressional profile at OpenCongress
• Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
• Financial information at OpenSecrets.org
• Staff salaries, trips and personal finance at LegiStorm.com
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• Appearances on C-SPAN programs

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by Thomas Barlow	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Kentucky's 1st congressional district 1995–present	Incumbent
United States order of precedence
Preceded by Mac Thornberry R-Texas	United States Representatives by seniority 111th	Succeeded by Jesse Jackson, Jr. D-Illinois