A bill naming the federal courthouse in London after a long-time federal judge from Whitley County is moving forward in Congress as a provision in an unrelated bill.
The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed the Thomas R. Carper Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2024, authorizing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Civil Works Program. The bipartisan legislation improves the nation’s water infrastructure through locally-driven projects that protect communities from flooding and support economic development.
Separately, the legislation also advances joint legislation introduced by Congressman Hal Rogers (KY-05) and U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell earlier this year, designating the federal courthouse in London as the “Eugene E. Siler, Jr. United States Courthouse Annex.”
Judge Siler’s trusted leadership on the federal bench for nearly 50 years has garnered the respect of the nation’s highest office with judicial appointments by three U.S. Presidents, noted a release by Rogers’ office.
WRDA now returns to the Senate for final passage before moving on to the President’s desk to be signed into law.
Siler, a Williamsburg native, served in the U.S. Navy on active duty from 1958-1960, and later retired as a Commander in the U.S. Naval Reserves after 26 years of service.
He began his law practice in 1964 alongside his father. He served as Whitley County Attorney from 1965 until 1970 when President Richard Nixon appointed him as United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky.
In 1975, President Gerald R. Ford appointed Siler as a United States District Judge for the Eastern and Western Districts of Kentucky.
In September 1991, President George Bush appointed Siler to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
In 2016, Leadership Tri-County named Siler as its Leader of the Year.
Leadership Tri-County is a non-profit organization established in 1987 as an educational program designed to identify potential, emerging, and current leaders from Knox, Laurel and Whitley counties and to nurture their continued development into the leaders our area needs now and in the future.
