Kentucky's junior U.S.

senator laced up his hiking boots to show his effort to boy adventure tourism in Appalachia.

That, in turn, he says, will benefit the Eastern Kentucky economy.

Senator Rand Paul was in the Red River Gorge last week to promote the creation of the Eastern Kentucky Leaf and Blossom Trail, similar to the Kentucky Bourbon Trail.

This group will engage communities and businesses to create a trail system that will bring visitors to areas of the region they haven't been able to get to before.

Senator Paul hopes the trail will attract tourists away from the overcrowded tourist areas of nearby states.

I think we can compete with Tennessee and North Carolina.

Our mountains are every bit as beautiful, if not more beautiful.

And, but they're getting a lot of traffic, and it's so crowded down in Tennessee and places that I think we can siphon off a lot of that business.

I think we're talking about millions of dollars of business.

I think the future of Eastern Ke After Senator Paul hiked some of the scenic trails, as you see in the Red River Gorge, we caught up with them for lunch at a local restaurant.

Our McKenzie speaking, spoke to the senator about some of the headlines at the federal level, like the government shutdown and the release of the so-called Epstein files.

The U.S.

is in its third week of a total government shutdown.

Senate Democrats want to negotiate the Affordable Care Act's subsidies that are expiring in December, warning that premiums could double for many Americans.

Senator Rand Paul says the subsidies that are expiring primarily benefit the upper class and the insurance companies.

This isn't an ending of the original Obamacare subsidies.

These are add on subsidies.

If you make $170,000 a year, you get an extra $3,600 a year.

Most people we're going to be watching this don't think make $170,000 is poor.

They think of that as being pretty well off and then you don't need a subsidy.

All this is done is made the insurance companies richer.

So I don't think it's a good idea, but it's not really material in the sense that the debate we're having is over.

Just opening the government and the spending levels.

Senator Paul has been a critic of President Trump in the past.

I asked him about the president's idea that U.S.

cities should be used as training grounds for the military.

Policemen are trained that if you're standing in front of my office, you're allowed to do it.

So you as a citizen want to protest one of my office.

We don't shoot you.

We don't arrest you, necessarily.

The Army is less nuanced in this.

And so Army, we're taught to kill the enemy, move them, arrest them, subdue them.

So it's a different sort of rules of engagement.

And that's why, unless it's a disaster, you really want a policeman as opposed to the army patrolling our cities?

A procedural move called a discharge petition led by U.S.

Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky's fourth congressional district, could force the House to vote on releasing the Epstein files.

But there's still aren't enough signatures.

Senator Paul says he supports the release of the documents to help restore the public space in the government.

There is this perception out there that very wealthy people got away with something probably because they're wealthy.

Now, I can't prove that, but I think we should get the information forward because we all need to have confidence in our government.

So I'm for releasing the documents.

I have voted that way.

We had a vote that came up that was put forward primarily by Democrats, but I voted with Democrats to release the files.

Last week, the Treasury said that the Trump administration is putting together $20 billion in aid to Argentina to ease its economic crisis.

Senator Paul says we can't give money that we don't have, even to our allies, in order to give them $20 billion, literally, we have to borrow the money from China and then send it to Argentina.

This year, China is buying zero no soybean.

Our farmers are hurting because of that.

Where is China buying our soybean from?

Argentina.

Brazil?

But part of this is from the tariff war.

And that's why I oppose the tariff war, because it's really, really hurting Kentucky farmers.

Regarding the government shutdown, Senator Paul says he expects it to end soon.

But that he opposes both the Republican and Democratic spending plans because of the multi-trillion dollar deficits attached to both plans.

For Kentucky Edition, I'm Mackenzie Spink.

Thank you.

Mackenzie.

This week, a bipartisan team, including Senator Paul, plans to force a vote on legislation that would block the president from carrying out any military action against Venezuela unless Congress declares war.

This month, the U.S.

struck five boats off the coast of Venezuela that were suspected of carrying drugs, killing 27 people.