U.S. Congressman Andy Barr visited Owensboro on Thursday morning, meeting with community members and local Republicans at the Hampton Inn Downtown Riverfront to share updates about his work in Congress and hear local concerns.
“This community is on the move,” Barr said. “I have a lot to learn about west Kentucky. I was born and raised in Lexington, but I recognize how important, from an economic standpoint, this part of Kentucky is.”
Barr, now in his 13th year in the U.S. House of Representatives, said he has focused on constituent services and committees related to financial services, foreign affairs, and U.S. competition with China.
“I have prided myself on constituent service, and I represent a swing district, a purple district, if you will,” he said. “We help everybody, whether you vote for us or not, whether you’re a liberal in Lexington or whether you’re MAGA in Montgomery County.”
During his visit, Barr highlighted economic proposals he supports in Congress, describing an effort to pass “one big, beautiful bill” to cut taxes and encourage business investment.
“When it comes to this one big, beautiful bill, I would say we’re on the 10-yard line, to use a football analogy,” he said. “We’ve got to vote for this bill. We’ve got to support the President, and we’ve got to get this one big, beautiful bill passed to prevent the largest tax increase in American history.”
Barr said he supports continuing direct federal funding for local infrastructure, crediting past investments in Owensboro’s riverfront development to targeted appropriations.
“I believe in direct appropriations for us in the appropriations process,” Barr said. “Instead of giving money to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and letting them decide who gets the money, and in most cases, it’s big cities and not rural America, allow a senator of a rural state like Kentucky [to direct it] to Owensboro.”
Energy production and Kentucky’s role in national energy security were central themes.
Barr told the audience, “We need more nuclear. It takes a while. There’s a lot of capital investment in nuclear, but we absolutely need to go there. We need to bring coal back.”
Regarding agriculture and land use, Barr said he supports property rights but wants to protect farmland.
“If someone owns a piece of property and they want to sell to a developer of solar, it’s their land, and I respect that. But I also respect local zoning laws,” he said. “I am concerned that some of our pristine farmland in my part of the world, it’s the horse industry, it’s our beef cattle industry… is being gobbled up by solar farms.”
National security was another topic. Barr said he opposes a nuclear Iran and supports Israel.
“A nuclear Iran is an American national security issue. We cannot allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon. Remember, Israel’s enemies are our enemies,” he said.
Barr said he favors continued work to secure the U.S.-Mexico border.
“We need a physical barrier. So that’s why I support President Trump. That’s why I supported it in the legal cases and led the effort on behalf of my colleagues in Congress,” he said.
Addressing disaster recovery in Kentucky, especially the tri-state area, Barr called for reforms to FEMA and federal planning.
“What we need to do is use real actuarial data about what’s going on with weather patterns and pre-position appropriations in advance to draw from, so they don’t have these supplemental appropriations bills that delay the recovery,” he said. “Time is money.”
Barr said he supports targeted federal spending for infrastructure.
“I believe in direct appropriations for us in the appropriations process. Not for more spending, but for more targeted spending that actually gets to rural America, and to small towns and medium-sized towns like Owensboro,” he said.
Before taking questions, Barr told the group he plans to keep promoting Kentucky’s industries and communities in Washington.
“All I’m ever thinking about is how to position Kentucky for the future,” he said.
