Harold Rogers (born December 31, 1937), American politician, has been a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives since 1980, representing the 5th District of Kentucky. His office is currently located in Somerset, KY. Rogers was born in Monticello, Kentucky, was educated at the University of Kentucky, served in the North Carolina Army National Guard, and was a lawyer before entering the House. He was the Republican nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky in 1979, losing in the general election to Democrat Martha Layne Collins. The following year Rogers won election to Congress.
In 2003 the Daniel Boone Parkway, a part of the Kentucky system of toll roads, was renamed the Hal Rogers Parkway (over the objection of some historians) in honor of Rogers efforts to have the parkway's construction bonds paid by the federal government. This action resulted in the ending of toll collection, as required by Kentucky law when a parkway's construction bonds are paid off by toll collections or other means. The highway runs through Rogers' district, and is scheduled to become part of an expanded Interstate 66.
On January 11, 2006, Rogers announced that he would donate $32,000 of the $33,000 he received from Republican Lobbyist Jack Abramoff to a charity. The charity he chose was the UNITE Foundation, which Rogers himself helped organize.
