His family owned and operated an oil distributorship that served the coal fields of Kentucky. Soon after graduating from law school, he was elected to the Kentucky House of Representatives where he served on the Appropriations and Transportation Committees. He was an associate and became partner in a general practice law firm for a period of 7 years and during this time he served as Legal Counsel for the local Municipal Water and Solid Waste Commission. In 1979, Ed took a position with Seaboard System Railroad in Washington, DC and subsequently served as Vice President in two different capacities with CSX Corporation, the successor railroad holding company of Seaboard System, Louisville and Nashville, Baltimore and Ohio and Chesapeake and Ohio Railroads. Leading up to Deregulation of the Railroad and Trucking Industries, Ed became a legal advisor to the Chairman of the Interstate Commerce Commission in Washington, DC and in 1994, was elected to the U.S. Congress from the 1st Congressional District of Kentucky.
As a Member of Congress, he served for almost 22 years and was a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee throughout his Congressional Career. He served as Chairman of the Energy and Power Subcommittee for six years and the Oversight and Investigation Subcommittee for four years. While Chairman of Energy and Power, he held over 40 hearings on a myriad of issues affecting the production and distribution of petroleum and natural gas products and the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity on the economic competitiveness of the U. S. economy.
He also initiated a series of forums with witnesses from various entities around the country to explore areas of the Clean Air Act that needed to be updated. Although several vested interest groups were opposed to any changes, many regulators concluded there were areas of agreement to change aspects of the Clean Air Act.
Throughout his Congressional career, he also served on the Health Subcommittee and was involved in the legislative process eventually leading to adoption of the Affordable Care Act, Medicare Part D ( Prescription Drug Benefit) and was the original sponsor of NASPER, the first national prescription drug monitoring system adopted in the U.S. Congress.
Although he was the primary sponsor of many legislative proposals, many of which became law, he is particularly proud of his legislation creating a 170,000-acre National Forest between the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers in Kentucky and Tennessee. The area is referred to as Land Between the Lakes, where elk, buffalo and other wildlife has been reintroduced.
Ed also introduced and helped pass legislation creating a health compensation program for employees who contracted one of twelve cancers while working at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant. As of today, over 3139 employees have benefited from the program.
Former Chairman Whitfield was a Co-Founder of the United States Turkish Caucus. The Turkish Caucus was started because Ft Campbell, home of the 5th Special Forces Group and the 101st Airborne Division is located in Ed’s First Congressional District and because Turkey is the only Muslim Nation in NATO, many military leaders were of the opinion the Caucus would be beneficial to this important relationship.
When Ed left Congress in September of 2016, he joined Farragut Partners where his broad range of experiences in transportation, health, military and energy at the International, Federal and State levels provide valuable insights and assistance for clients of Farragut Partners. In addition to his responsibilities at Farragut Partners, he has served on the Board of Directors of the Former Members of Congress Association, on the Advisory Board of the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Society at the University of Montana, on the Board of Governors of Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, DC and is an Officer in the Order of St. John. The Order of St. John is an Order of Chivalry of the British Crown and operates the St. John Eye Hospital Group in Jerusalem, Hebron and Gaza.
Ed also served in the United States Army in an armor unit and has a B.S. in Business and Accounting and a JD from the University of Kentucky Law School. He also studied Comparative Law and International Transaction at Exeter University, Exeter, England. He is married to Constance B. Harriman, former Assistant Secretary of Interior for Fish, Wildlife and National Parks and former Member of the Board of Directors of the Export-Import Bank of the United States.
