[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 114 (Wednesday, July 2, 2025)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E640-E641]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      PAYING TRIBUTE TO BILL ESTEP

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. HAROLD ROGERS

                              of kentucky

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 2, 2025

  Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I rise, today to pay tribute to 
Kentucky journalist Bill Estep, who is retiring from the Lexington 
Herald Leader after 40 years of dedicated news and investigative 
reporting in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
  As a resident of Somerset, Kentucky, Bill is one of my constituents, 
giving him personal insight into the generational challenges that we 
have faced in Kentucky's Appalachian region. He has written about our 
coal mines, our education system, historic flooding and tornado 
disasters, while also holding elected leaders accountable in the 
courtroom of public opinion, and never failing to keep facts at the 
core of his journalistic integrity. With the uprising of ``yellow 
journalism'' in the form of social media's sensational opinions and 
unchecked rumors, 24-hours a day, Bill has remained consistent in his 
news coverage, keeping his pen steady, balanced, fair and accurate.
  Over the last four decades, Bill and I have sat down together to talk 
about every issue that impacts the people of southern and eastern 
Kentucky. We built a trusted relationship with the understanding that 
we both had an important job to do, requiring tough questions and, at 
times, tough answers. In 2003, Bill embarked on an investigative series 
called ``Prescription for Pain'' that would prove to have a monumental 
impact on my public service. The series exposed a rapidly growing 
opioid epidemic more than 20 years ago that was spreading like wildfire 
throughout our small communities, taking the lives of high school 
beauty queens and local leaders alike, while revealing local corruption 
and criminal drug trafficking in the depths of our mountain 
communities. His collective work inspired me to not only respond, but 
to take action. In the following weeks, I called together a group of 
leaders from across our region to launch a non-profit organization 
called Operation UNITE--Unlawful Narcotics Investigations, Treatment 
and Education--the Nation's first multi-pronged approach to help save 
lives and curb the drug crisis. In 2012, Operation UNITE took its 
mission to the national stage by establishing the National Rx and 
Illicit Drug Summit, which has grown into the largest convention of its 
kind with more than 3,000 annual attendees and highlighted by keynote 
speakers from federal agencies across the country, including four U.S. 
Presidents. Bill's reporting inspired a life-saving movement in Eastern 
Kentucky that is now impacting collaborative efforts nationwide--a feat 
worthy of a Pulitzer Prize and more.
  In 2013, when the downturn of the coal industry was exacerbated by 
the Obama Administration's war on coal, we lost more than 12,000 coal 
mining jobs in Eastern Kentucky alone. Once again, turning to action 
rather than words, former Governor Steve Beshear and I co-founded a 
bipartisan initiative called SOAR--Shaping Our Appalachian Region--to 
reimagine the future of southern and eastern Kentucky. Since inception, 
SOAR has focused on expanding access to high performance broadband, 
more diversified industrial development, workforce training, innovative 
tourism

[[Page E641]]

projects, expanded health care opportunities and much more. With the 
formation of SOAR, Bill Estep showed up once again with his iconic 
yellow notepad and a recorder to get the story right. From day one, he 
made sure there was an entire section in the Herald Leader featuring 
the work of SOAR, and he has remained committed to following our 
progress, our goals and our challenges.
  Throughout his career, it has been clear when Bill used his opinion 
in an effective way, advocating for a larger spread in the urban 
Lexington-based statewide newspaper to help feature stories in Eastern 
Kentucky that the rest of the state should care about. I imagine that 
he didn't win every battle with his editors over the years, but I know 
that Bill believed in the value of southern and eastern Kentucky for 
the rest of the Commonwealth. He was bold to ask tough questions, 
patient enough to listen to the response, and determined to conduct 
necessary research before writing a story. Upcoming and current 
reporters should take notes from Bill, and proceed with unbiased 
questions, an open mind, and a relentless dedication to facts over 
opinions and click-bait.
  Our rural Appalachian region has largely remained in the shadows of 
Kentucky's bigger cities, playing the national media's role of the 
impoverished, forgotten people who need a savior. Thanks to courageous 
journalists like Bill, we have had the opportunity to fight the 
stereotypes and tell the real story taking place in Eastern Kentucky, 
where resilient and innovative people are stepping up to shape a 
brighter future for the next generation through aerospace, medical 
science, engineering and much more. As Bill begins a new chapter of 
retirement to focus on his family's story and new traveling adventures, 
I hope it is filled with great pride in the work he has accomplished 
and the light of hope that he has helped shine on Eastern Kentucky.

                          ____________________