U.S. Rep. Harold "Hal" Rogers made his first official visit to Carter County on Tuesday, August 13th since the county was added to Kentucky's Fifth Congressional District at the beginning of the year. Rogers joined Kentucky Christian University to announce new scholarships for Congressional Award Gold Medalists. KCU is the first post-secondary institution in Kentucky to offer scholarships to students in the Congressional Award program.

"Our students face much more competition today, and I believe the Congressional Award program helps them to become well-rounded, goal-oriented achievers," said Rogers. "I commend Kentucky Christian University and President, Dr. Jeff Metcalf, for investing in our future leaders with this scholarship opportunity."

The Congressional Award program is open to students from 14- to 23-years-old and requires goals to be set in four areas of achievement: volunteer public service, personal development, physical fitness and expedition/exploration. For more information about the Congressional Award program, visit http://congressionalaward.org.

Also at KCU, Rogers joined the Grayson Area Chamber of Commerce for the civic organization's monthly meeting. Rogers provided the crowd of more than 100 attendees with a Washington Update about the Affordable Care Act (or ObamaCare) and the Obama Administration's "War on Coal." 

"We haven't been able to repeal ObamaCare, but we're doing our best to slow it down by slashing the IRS budget by 24% and prohibiting the federal agency from enforcing the healthcare law," said Rogers. "I've also tried to throw roadblocks in front of the EPA's destructive, job-killing regulations. We've lost 5,800 coal mining jobs in the last 18 months in eastern Kentucky alone. It's time to stop the War on Coal and put our families back to work."

Rogers also applauded new local partnerships with the UNITE and PRIDE programs. Rogers presented the Chairman of the Carter County "Enough" Drug-Free Coalition, Jim Varney with a "Difference Maker Award" for his efforts to help families and individuals grappling with addiction. Jim and his wife Debbie also operate the local Lifeline Recovery Program.

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