♪ >> All we need right now is a strong leadership to get this across the finish line.

>> Kentucky's public servants rally for improvements to their Social Security.

Senator Mitch McConnell says he's fine and getting back to work after a fall.

>> Feingold Bill Cowles it 11 a smile.

As for at our kids.

>> And a little girl is proving good things come in small packages.

>> Production of Kentucky Edition is made possible in part by the KET Millennium Fund.

♪ ♪ Good Evening and welcome to Kentucky EDITION for this Wednesday, December.

11th, I'm Laura Rogers and for Renee Shaw.

Thank you so much for joining us.

>> Parents welcoming a newborn into their family can face financial stress of their employer doesn't offer paid parental leave.

More than 30,000 state public employees have no such benefits.

But as our to LaFleur reports, Kentucky politicians and policy researchers want to see that change.

>> Research suggests parents of newborns fare better when mom or dad have paid leave.

The left lane in Kentucky Center for economic policy says state government would function better to with such a policy.

>> Do we have 33,000 folks who work for the state?

And we've heard a lot in the past legislative session about how hard it is to find and retain good quality workers in Kentucky.

So one thing that we feel like would really go a long way toward helping that as well as provide a host of other benefits to new parents and their children because making sure that there's at least 6 weeks of paid parental leave for any any new parent who works for the state.

>> Okay.

Why policy found other employers in Kentucky already offer paid parental leave.

>> Kentucky employees particularly in 2 more white collar positions in state government, their directly competing for workers with other governmental entities.

So that includes places like Lexington, Louisville and Frankfort.

That includes places like the University of Kentucky, northern Kentucky University.

That includes health care systems like Norton and UK Healthcare and then some other types of private sector places like Amazon and all the places I just mentioned offer some form of paid parental leave.

>> Most workers can take weeks off to care for a newborn under federal protections.

But that's unpaid.

If state employees don't have enough vacation or sick days to cover their absence, they might just leave their job.

>> There's plenty of research to show that when there's not paid parental leave after particularly the new mother as a child, they they tend to stay home.

Now, that's that's not that is having the majority the time.

But it happens enough that we think that it creates a real burden for state government.

We also know that, you know, it can cost up to 21% of a year's salary for that position in 2 higher for the new work or so in many ways, we think that's what could be a cost savings to the state, particularly considering there's very little money that would need to be put up to be able to pay for it.

>> That's why some fiscal conservatives like the idea too.

>> This is the type of a benefit the U.S. even some playing field with with some private sector jobs ands.

We do want.

That's a 2 tracks.

Talented folks.

Into these positions in state government.

And it can be done, which is their peers, you know, will be done without impacting the pension system or a having a very significant cost to it.

There's just an opportunity for there to be broad support.

Ford.

>> Last session, state and amaze Bledsoe proposed 4 weeks of paid leave for state employees.

Right now she is pushing the Beshear administration to enact a paid leave policy of its own before she takes the fight again to the General Assembly for Kentucky edition.

I'm to look for.

>> The full case for paid parental leave report is online at K Y policy.

Doc Torque.

It's back to work for U.S..

Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the outgoing Senate minority leader, as we told you yesterday, McConnell fell after Republican luncheon in Washington, D.C., he suffered a sprained wrist and a cut to his face.

A picture of Senator McConnell shows a bandage on his face.

This is not Senator McConnell's first health incident.

The 82 year-old froze last year while talking to reporters at the U.S. Capitol and he has fallen in the past.

McConnell is up for reelection in 2026.

He has not said if he will run again.

Kentucky firefighters, police officers and teachers are calling on Senator McConnell to pass the Senate bill.

597 also called the Social Security Fairness Act.

If passed, the bill would repeal 2 programs.

The government pension offset or gpo and the windfall elimination provision or W E P the group says those programs are harming public service workers who take on second jobs.

>> These provisions were enacted decades ago with an intent of addressing perceived inequities in the Social Security system.

But in reality, they punish the very people who have dedicated their lives to serving our communities.

Many of us work second jobs to support our families by driving buses, working as cashiers taking on summer jobs taking on after-school and weekend jobs only to find their Social Security benefits are unfairly slashed for surviving spouses.

The Gpo creates an even harsher burden leaving many widows and widowers with no safety net.

>> That the loss of their loved one.

>> So people may have gone their entire lives, planning a financial road map to retirement security.

And then they go, oh, goodness.

Well, it's not what I what I thought it would.

And we hear stories of people that have to stay longer and in the workplace.

And I think that's not that's not good for anybody in older firefighters, all the police officers, teachers, you know, who have given their their lifetime forward are having to stay in the workplace and then that prevent young people from coming into the job place.

Well, it's something that really all Kentucky's can want because it puts more money back into our communities.

It allows us to shop in our community, support local economies.

You it helps recruit people into the in the workplace so that that's helpful to the employers.

It's really not controversial at all.

And it's something we've been working for quite frankly, since it passed 1983.

This bill has overwhelming bipartisan support in Congress.

>> House Bill 82, which is the companion bill in the House passed overwhelmingly 327.

The 75 and in the Senate right now, they're 62 co-sponsors who are ready to act.

To repeal these unfair provisions.

All we need right now is a strong leadership to get this across the finish line.

Senator McConnell is just that leader to make this happen.

Repealing the weapon.

The gpo is a chance for Senator McConnell to stand with Kentucky's educators, police officers and firefighters and show the nation that fairness and respect what fairness and respect looks like our public servants.

>> Opponents of the Social Security Fairness Act say Gpo and wept should be adjusted rather than repealed because they are legitimate efforts to prevent double dipping from Social Security and pensions.

While various versions of this bill has been introduced over the last 25 years, supporters believe this year it has the momentum to pass, but time is running out for the Senate to vote on.

It was only a few days left in this legislative session.

U.S.

Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky says he agrees with President-elect Donald Trump's call for the U.S. to stay out of Syria's affairs after rebels toppled the nation's president.

But Paul says he disagrees with Trump's incoming foreign policy team in other areas.

>> But I do have some disagreements with them while they don't want to be heavily involved in the Middle East, some of them want to expand the military budget to a great degree.

And the coming of Alden a belligerent way with China.

I think that's a huge mistake.

And I think that trading with China is a much better option than fighting with China.

And so I don't really like some of the bellicosity I hear from the incoming administration about severing ties with China.

I think that actually makes war more likely with China if we sever are trading ties.

>> Senator Paul spoke on the Rubin report hosted by Dave Rubin.

Understanding the health care system and what resources are available can be a difficult but necessary task to get affordable medical care, especially for seniors in rule communities as Clayton Dalton reports a group in eastern Kentucky is working to bridge the gap between access and affordability and is part of Katie's the next chapter and initiative focus on the issues facing Kentucky's aging population and their loved ones.

>> Getting older can be difficult.

Managing your health, paying for prescriptions and navigating health insurance can be overwhelming.

This is especially true in parts of eastern Kentucky, a region with unusually high levels of poverty.

And you'll miss is like cancer, heart disease and diabetes.

But for seniors in eastern Kentucky, there is help.

It's called Kentucky Home Place.

>> There are 20 to certify community health workers that work with Kentucky home place and we cover around 32 counties in eastern Kentucky.

>> Samantha Bowman is a community health worker.

She helps people improve their quality of life, whether that's assisting with the housing application are helping to decrease out of pocket costs for medicine.

She says seniors are struggling.

>> So the biggest thing within the last year or 2 that I've seen is for seniors is food and security.

So we help them apply for farmers.

Market vouchers where they will receive fresh fruit and fetch fresh vegetables.

We help connect them with community pantries to where they can go and they can pick at senior commodities and then navigating through health insurance.

There are so many different options available to them, but a lot of them are unaffordable when they come to say, yes, we can.

Review plans with them, help assist them with the medications that are expensive to KET them out of the doughnut hole longer so that they can afford their other lower costs medications throughout the year.

just help them with medical supplies that they can't afford to purchase.

>> One of Samantha's, many clients is Fannie Callahan.

She had emergency surgery in 2013 just a few years before she retired.

She was in the hospital for a week and out of work for over a month.

When the medical bills showed up, she KET she needed help.

>> I would expect him to walk and I feel like I was Megan.

But when I walked him from appointment.

I walked than to a warm smile, a warm welcome.

>> she reassured may.

We will take care of the situation.

She reached out to these people.

>> Some of them just drop the whole amount.

But I owed within a few months.

I was that free.

Healthy back to war.

But stale.

There's there's lots of things over.

>> Sense Lamb and But I still go 2 or 4.

>> For thousands of Kentuckians like Fannie community, health workers are a lifeline in some situations.

They're even lifesavers.

>> I've had clients before that had a heart attack and standing at my door.

He was cry.

He was sweating and the first place.

The staff that was Kentucky home place called his doctor.

The doctor got in stride and he was then taken by ambulance to a local hospital.

A hospital airlifted him to you guys.

So, yeah, when people show up here by need help.

>> Ace Baker is the director of Kentucky Home Place.

He says trust core part of the program.

It takes a long time to build, harassed someone's trust.

It is really important that our community health workers get out and work and their communities and get to know people.

>> And build partnerships because they depend on these partnerships when they're helping their clients and having those communication skills and being a, you know, Jordan person to talk to and a helpful person is key to being a community.

Health worker.

You can teach folks a lot of skills, but you can't teach and compassion.

>> And I hear it all the time by sigh.

I wished I would have known you were here sooner because I'm the I'm needed this help for so long but didn't know where to turn.

When you come to her new from the out.

Things that are out there.

That that you don't know if to say yes.

And the that is why Kentucky home places so helpful.

To the community and to the elderly, especially.

>> The most fulfilling part of my job or my client.

The thank you's the could have done it without you.

The stopping in here to Sai Hy.

I just got my labs by my one say has stopped.

And to just be able to get those hugs.

It's microns, if you will, at just about anybody in this town.

>> Where can I get help?

But they answer that.

Yes, that's a Kentucky home life.

>> For KET, I'm Clayton Dalton.

>> And we do take a closer look at other issues facing aging Kentuckians and discuss some of the resources available during aging and health care KET.

Special report that airs Monday night at 8 Eastern 7 central right here on KET.

It's time now for our midweek.

Check in with Rylan Barton editor with National Public Radio and Rylan.

We will begin.

>> With news this week that Governor Andy Beshear has been tapped for another leadership role this time to serve as vice chair of the Democratic Governors Association.

Tell us more about that announcement and what implications that could have for Bashir's future.

>> Yeah.

This year's national profile continues to rise after this summer where he was featured prominently in the veepstakes with the vice President.

Harris, is she?

Ran for president, but so he's going to be the incoming chair elect of the Democratic Governors Association, which is a it's a big political group that deals a lot with a candidate, recruitment messaging, but all sorts of, you know, political decisions that are going into the governor's race is over the next couple years.

So will serve as the vice president next year.

But in Virginia and New Jersey have a governor's race is on the line.

And then in 2026, there will be 36 governorships up for grabs and that's what will be the the chair elect of the DGA.

So they got this is a this is a big national that position, something which you know, which will be setting the tone for what those races are going to look like in 2026.

And that's something he said.

He's had a great interest to, you know, use one of the people whose, you know, in all the post-mortems of of what happened to Democrats this year and this year's elections, you somebody, you know, things.

He has an idea of what Democrats should do going forward, which is to to lean into, you know, basically pocketbooks, pocketbook issues, issues that effect families across the country.

And while at the same time trying to not totally lead away from Democrats positions on some of the divisive social issues.

But he says the Democrats need to lead with those other economic issues.

He said he said that they they kind of lost sight of that in recent elections.

So, yeah, again and that in terms of what this could mean for his he's been mentioned a lot for as a potential presidential candidate or nay vice presidential candidate or you know something going into 2028. the next time the of, you know, everybody, we voting on a new president, a new administration.

So we'll see how this all paves the but all this all fits together.

But definitely this is a this is a big national pickup for this year.

>> Yes, and Kratz certainly hoping for better midterm elections and what they had this past Election day.

And like you said, really trying to regroup and look ahead at how they may need to change some of their messaging now and light of this news, the Kentucky Republican Party or at least I know there was a post on social media kind of criticizing the DGA is pick a little bit But the Kentucky Democrats are tens of thousands of dollars in debt and the Democratic Party now responding to those claims.

>> Yeah, there is this really the most recent financial report that the Kentucky Democratic Party had to put together a show them in debt?

Now what they say, the reason for that is that there's a lot of shuffling that happens of money between all the state parties, especially ahead of a big national and yeah, Kentucky for a moment.

It should look like that.

They're worried they were in debt.

But it's it's not as stark as it would seem grated like the Kentucky Democratic Party isn't as well resources, the Kentucky Republican birdie for sure.

But it is a it was really just a little bit of a financial.

Yeah, a financial hit.

It reporting pick up that showed that they were so in debt and so on.

Yeah.

So a little, you know, a little political food fight going on after that.

That pick after a teacher got that pick so that every I think the larger criticism of any this year, it's really just, you know, he's won statewide elections in Kentucky.

Does that message and working on on a national level?

And that's something that has really been tested yet.

We wondered if those can be tested this year, the been the the pick.

But yeah, we're kind of waiting to see.

>> And then something else want to talk about here is says State revenue projected to decline as state lawmakers.

Many of them prominent Republicans insist that they still want to cut the state income tax are doing that slowly.

But surely I guess you would say so.

What does that mean for the future of the general fund?

If we do see less money there do too les taxpayer dollars.

>> Yeah.

So we know that according to the latest official, a report by state budget officials in Kentucky slated to bring in about 213 million dollars less during the next fiscal year, which is a it's a 1.4% decline.

That might not sound like a lot.

But when we're talking about that much money, these are the that's a lot of money that goes to fund important government services.

So Kentucky's, I've been on this path over the last few years, the legislature passed a law that will as long as certainly metrics are met.

But the state will continue to lower its income tax by half of a percentage point.

So right now the state is looking at a possible going from 4% down to 3 and a half percent.

This is coming down from 5 and a half percent a couple of years ago.

Republican leaders in the Legislature said say that this is still their top priority, that this is something voters are are are watching the state to do.

But this is also only the 4th time apparently that that Kentucky's revenue has declined year-over-year and some some budget watchers are a little worried that Kentucky's moving in the wrong direction here.

But, you know, undermining its main revenue source, which is income tax from from Kentucky.

Taxpayers.

So we'll see this.

This debate will continue on into the legislative session because the legislature ultimately have to authorized, you know, really sign off on those cuts going forward.

They don't really automatically go into effect.

And there's some other triggers that will have to be met as well for this to take place.

But as of now, Republicans say that they're on track in going to try and continue doing that.

>> And some may recall that in 2022, they did expand the sales tax to cover more services.

Was that to try to make up for any shortfalls they may see due to this income tax situation.

Think?

>> Yeah, that's something that happens you know, the last say 6 years or every time that there's a kind of mini tax reform package that will move through the legislature whenever they can look lower, the income tax will try to expand attacks.

Other sales taxes.

We can remember back to them at that age.

This was this is a big priority for Republicans at that time to move away from income taxes and more to consumption taxes, which again, budget critics will say that that's something that's regressive, especially give to poor taxpayers because they spend a larger share of their incomes wears, you know, wealthier people.

They're able to save a lot more of their money.

So they would prefer to have less income tax and have that more spent on sales this debate will continue out when the legislature, but it's at this point.

Republicans are really, you know, this is they're they're in the driver's seat on this.

And and Republicans have really been doubling down on that on that philosophy of moving away from the income tax and more to that sales tax.

>> Alright, Dryland Barton with NPR.

We appreciate your time today.

Thank you so much.

>> Thanks, Lar.

♪ ♪ >> Santa has lots of special helpers this time of year.

A 6 year-old girl in Hart County has collected Christmas toys for other kids since she was a toddler.

We spent some time with her on her quest to spread holiday cheer.

>> Inmates at pains to make Alaina Barker loves Christmas and that's a perfect for fine as we are not a trained the air and just like Rudolph helps Santa find his way on Christmas Eve that was ruled a lane of helps deliver toys to families in need have servant's heart since she could walk and crawl.

>> A first grader at Coburn Elementary School.

She's a little girl making a big impact on people stroll right?

>> Jared Leto can't here to learn to make a difference.

But I say.

>> We're not here to make a difference.

Alaina has collected close to 3,000 toys over the past 4 years.

>> Toys for Toys for Tots.

She even has her own corner at Hart County Toys for Tots headquarters.

She feels that corner of every year with toy Safety Director Connie Matter says she's grateful for the extra support.

It touches my heart.

A line is such a sweetheart.

First time I met her, I just fell in love with her to a sets up at the horse Cave Heritage Festival every year handing out laminate lollipops and stickers.

Small schoolhouse rule.

>> While Kenny Mice save me and it couldn't be done with our friends, family and our community and that I'm thankful for any donations go to their toy fund.

It is a a >> year long winter.

Elaine and her mother, Sarah shopping for bargains and deals dot come out the year outright flow cattle or is that right to >> And food.

Usually we're blessed to receive a lot more than what was pretty shocked and able to go out and do one last big spending trip right?

As Toys for Tots season starts at.

And there's just not right.

He would have enough items to provide to as many kids as we give to without the community.

>> Matter says last year they distributed about 900 toys to a couple 100 families numbers.

They expect to repeat or exceed this year.

Right now, it seems like there's so many people struggling.

Everybody has hardships.

Some people, you know, their hearts set.

Some people, KET it well hidden that are able to pay their bills.

But still struggle day to day a nation boxes are set up across the county in October.

If so, just been pouring in.

>> A gas boycott and some may be tossed out.

>> And even though we've picked a collection boxes up there, still bringing only in 2 or 3 at the time, they're still given.

Those donations are then sorted.

Baghdad transported with a pickup sites.

Unlike a lot of kids happy that's for sure.

On Christmas morning.

And that's what excites Alaina airing an ad that the front making Christmas.

Merry for hundreds of families in her own community has a lot of children that's going to be laced with Toys for Tots help this year.

>> Toys for Tots says in 2023 gave away more than 24,000 toys and supported more than 13,000 children and South Central Kentucky.

Coming up tomorrow, we'll see how and eastern Kentucky radio station hit the road after their studio was lost in the floods of 2022.

>> I would only come back.

How do we were going to be back?

It was just a matter of time because we're too much of the.

>> Too much of a voice not to come back.

>> Step inside of W N didn't.

He's possum, Dan.

That's Thursday on Kentucky Edition.

We hope that you'll join us again tomorrow night at 6.30, Eastern 5.30, central for Kentucky Edition.

>> Where we inform connect and inspire subscribe to our Kentucky Edition.

Email newsletter is watch full episodes and clips at KET Dot Org.

Send your story.

Ideas of public affairs at KET Dot Org and follow us on social media to stay in the live.

Thank you so much for being here with us.

Have a good evening.

We'll see you back here tomorrow.

♪