October 29, 2025

Congressman Brett Guthrie talks with community leaders in Radcliff about the  impact of the government shutdown, Christian County plans a resource fair to help civilian workers at Fort Campbell, and new law banning drones for fishing and hunting in the state takes effect.

Episode Transcript

(00:09):
>> Do you expect us to tell the
men and women in uniform to
wait for the next 2 or 3 weeks,
not get paid so we can
negotiate ACA tax credits.
>> Here from Congressman Brett
Guthrie about the federal
government shutdowns, impact on
Fort Knox.
>> Allowing taxes to be levied,
doubled, tripled. And then one
day, perhaps forgiven is a

(00:31):
recipe for chaos.
>> Kentucky's U.S. senators
vote to reverse tariffs on
Brazil. But does that vote
matter?
>> Time saved is brain saved.
So if you or anyone else is
experiencing new signs of a
stroke, call 911 and get to the
E.R. immediately.
>> And what are the red flags

(00:52):
before stroke?
>> Production of Kentucky
edition is made possible in
part by the KET Millennium Fund.
>> Good evening and welcome to

(01:13):
Kentucky edition for Wednesday,
October the 29th. I'm Renee
Shaw, and we thank you for
winding down your Wednesday
with us. Congressman Brett
Guthrie met with community
leaders and Radcliffe today as
the government shutdown is now
in its fourth week. The lapse
in funding is causing stress
for many families, including
civilian personnel at Fort Knox,

(01:34):
who've been furloughed. Senate
Democrats are demanding an
extension of health care tax
credits tied to the Affordable
Care Act, set to expire at the
end of the year.
>> And we need to deal with the
high cost of health care. We
absolutely have to deal with
the high cost of health care,
but they need to make sure we

(01:54):
don't. They keep saying
leverage we have. This is our
only leverage is shutting down
the government. It was tried, I
tell you, it was tried 12 years
ago. It's leverage when they
say this is the only leverage
they have, the leverage that
they're claiming to have has
the effect that you guys just
heard in the room next door.
And it's just sad. It's
unfortunate. And it needs to

(02:15):
stop.
>> Today's roundtable
discussion included concerns
over the shutdown's economic
impact. Active duty military
are getting paid, but there's
still uncertainty. And area
food banks and other resources
say they're receiving more
requests for help. There's also
the issue of Snap funding or
food stamps, set to end later

(02:37):
this week. Guthrie says Senate
Minority Leader Chuck Schumer
should learn from the example
of former leader, Republican
Senator Mitch McConnell.
>> But in the Senate, you can't
just be against everything. You
have to be for things, because
as long as you I mean, Chuck
Schumer, I assume in the Senate
rules could just not filibuster,
let 52 Republicans pass it. But

(02:58):
he's choosing to filibuster,
which means it takes 60 votes,
which will take at least 7 or 8
Democrats to vote for it. And
that's a tough decision to make.
Kevin McCarthy lost his
speakership because he made
that decision. Mitch McConnell,
you've seen the ads. You see
how people go. You have to
spend political capital because
the most hardcore of believers

(03:18):
in your party won't you can't
give in to anything. Well,
Mitch McConnell made the
decision to be a statesman. And
you've seen you've just seen
the political capital he spent.
And people forget how much he's
done for the Republican Party,
the Supreme Court and
everything else. But he spent
political capital doing that.
And I'll just call on Chuck
Schumer to follow the example

(03:39):
of Mitch McConnell and be a
statesman and not a politician.
And let's get to discuss let's
let's pay these men and women
in the military. Let's pay
these families serving the men
and women in the military. And
let's absolutely sit down and
negotiate to get a handle on
the rising cost of health care
in this country. That's
absolutely needs to be done.
>> Guthrie says. Congress
appropriates money for SNAP,

(04:00):
otherwise known as food stamps.
And through some, and though
some are calling for
contingency funds to cover
benefits during the shutdown,
he says those are for
emergencies like natural
disasters. Now, it's not just
Fort Knox. Civilian workers at
Fort Campbell in Christian
County, along the Tennessee
line, are going without pay.

(04:21):
County leaders are rallying
around the workers and plan to
host a resource fair to help
folks make ends meet. Our Emily
Sisk has more.
>> We are joined now by the
judge executive of Christian
County, Jerry Gilliam. Thank
you so much for being with us.
And we want to ask you about
this resource fair that
Christian County is going to

(04:42):
hold. Tell us about it. What is
the need for this resource fair?
>> Well, we've been pretty
engaged with Fort Campbell
since the beginning of the
shutdown, and we discovered
that there are some voids with
the civilian workforce. And we
wanted to certainly be able to

(05:03):
provide some kind of assistance
to those folks, or at least
awareness, so they can know and
be able to plan. Is there said
not to receive a paycheck in
this next week?
>> And for folks who maybe
don't know, when we talk about
the civilian workforce, what
does that mean and how many
people does that include?

(05:23):
>> It's a great question, Emily.
So we have a civilian workforce
that actually participate and
work alongside our active duty
soldiers at Fort Campbell. So
the garrison, which is kind of
the city at home within Fort
Campbell, has, along with the
the bark or the Blanchfield
Army Community Hospital, each

(05:44):
together have about 2000
employees that are not military
or civilian workforce. So and
then when you take all the
other contractors and other
civilians, that totals around
4000 people. So it's a larger
impact. And of course, our
active duty did receive pay.
You know, the 15th, they're

(06:06):
assuming that we're going to
see them get paid again this
week. But we know the civilian
workforce probably will not get
paid. The ones that are
furloughed.
>> Okay. And so for this
resource fair, what kind of
resources would that include.
>> We're going to have a list
of food banks that are
available. We've worked with
our shelters and hopefully be

(06:27):
able to actually work with
property management companies.
So any rent that may be due,
we're looking at opportunities
that that they can be able to
inform these management
companies the their situation
and hopefully be able to work
something out along with our
utility partners, be able to

(06:48):
identify the reasons that
they're being furloughed and
even psychological opportunity.
The Penarol center is going to
be there and hopefully we'll
get get some help they need. So
basically just if nothing else,
for them to feel like they are,
they're thought about and we
care about them and they're
part of our community. And we
certainly want to do what we

(07:09):
can and do our part to help
them through this tough times.
We all indications say that
when the shutdown is gone, they
will receive back pay. But
until that they're they're
going without pay. So they are
part of our community. And and
like any good community, you
got to support each other. And

(07:29):
that's certainly what we want
to do here.
>> Yes. Well this is great
information to know. So
Judge-executive Gilliam, we
appreciate your time and thank
you for telling us about this.
>> Thank you Emily.
>> Thanks, Emily. The resource
fair is next Tuesday and
Wednesday at Valor Hall in Oak
Grove. Now going back to
Washington politics. The U.S.
House Oversight Committee is

(07:50):
out with a new report alleging
a cover up of former President
Joe Biden's mental status. The
report suggests Biden's aides
were allowed to enact executive
actions without his knowledge.
And it says Biden's use of the
Autopen, which is a machine
that can duplicate someone's
signature, should be considered
invalid unless it can be proven

(08:11):
that Biden approved of the
signed decisions. Congressman
James Comer of Kentucky's first
congressional district is chair
of that powerful oversight
committee. He discussed the new
report on CNN.
>> Anyone that reads this
report, anyone that watches the
hours.
>> And hours of depositions,
would would conclude that Joe

(08:31):
Biden wasn't the one making
those decisions. They had
opportunity after opportunity
to demonstrate a consistent
pattern of how pardons were
authorized. And they failed to
do that. And look, everyone in
America saw with their own eyes
a declining president of the
United States and the fact that
there was so much activity

(08:51):
during the lame duck period, it
seemed like from the time of
the debate until the transition
of power, that's when the use
of the autopen greatly
accelerated. And again, 75% of
the time that Autopen was used,
they claim Joe Biden, according
to the records, was in the
white House. Why wouldn't he,
you know, be more involved? Why
wouldn't there be notes from

(09:12):
from meetings that Joe Biden
said this? There's no
documentation that would
suggest Joe Biden was involved
in the pardon.
>> I guess the.
>> Biden has denied being
unaware of his administration's
actions. Democrats on the House
Oversight Committee called this
report a distraction. The
committee is now asking U.S.

(09:33):
Attorney General Pam Bondi to
review all executive actions
from the Biden administration.
Five Republican U.S. senators,
including both from Kentucky,
joined Democrats to vote
against President Donald
Trump's 50% tariff on Brazil, a
tariff causing increased costs
for coffee, oil and orange

(09:54):
juice. The vote was 52 to 48.
To end the tariff, Senator
McConnell said this about the
president's overall tariff
policy and its effect on the
Kentucky economy. He says,
quote, retaliatory tariffs on
American products have turned
agricultural income upside down
for many of Kentucky's nearly
70,000 family farms. Bourbon

(10:15):
has been caught in the
crossfire from day one, and
consumers are paying higher
prices across the board as the
true cost of trade barriers
fall inevitably on them. End
quote. Senator Rand Paul of
Kentucky says a tariff is
nothing more than a tax. And in
this case, he says it's a tax
levied by one man, the

(10:36):
president, without the consent
of Congress or the people. Paul
says that's exactly the kind of
thinking that led to the
American Revolution.
>> In 1765, the American
patriot who helped formulate
the grievances against the
British crown, James Otis,
called for a defense of this
principle by popularizing the
phrase taxation without

(10:58):
representation is tyranny. This
principle was said by many to
be the principle, the spark
that sparked our revolution.
Yet today, the Senate is
compelled to act because one
person in our country wishes to
raise taxes without the
approval of the Senate, without
the approval of the House,

(11:18):
without the approval of the
Constitution, allowing taxes to
be levied, doubled, tripled,
and then one day, perhaps
forgiven is a recipe for chaos.
The tariffs are implemented,
the tariffs are canceled, the
tariffs are delayed. The tariff
rate changes daily. Just this
week, the president added a

(11:38):
special 10% import tax on
Canada because he was mad about
the nations. Ronald Reagan had
an ad, by the way, which was
showing Ronald Reagan verbatim.
Speaking newsflash to the
administration. Reagan was a
free trader. Subject or target.
>> The vote is considered

(11:59):
largely symbolic. The political
website The Hill reports that
House speaker Mike Johnson is
unlikely to bring the
resolution up for a House vote,
and even if it passed the House,
it would be vetoed by President
Trump. If you're mid 60s and
above, you're likely being

(12:19):
inundated with snail mail and
phone calls about Medicare
coverage plans. Now, is the
Medicare open enrollment period
that started October the 15th
and goes until December 7th.
This is the time enrollees
review all their options and
decide whether they want to
keep the health care coverage
they have or make a change. And
to say it's complicated is an

(12:41):
understatement. Medicare.gov is
an online resource to help you
compare your options, and you
can reach out also to state
health insurance assistance
counselors to help you make
sense of it all. Last week, I
spoke with Tricia Neuman at the
KFF, formerly known as the
Kaiser Family Foundation, to
help us sort out traditional
Medicare versus advantage or
Medicare Advantage options.

(13:03):
>> There are many tradeoffs in
Medicare Advantage plans. On
the upside, they can offer
extra benefits like vision,
hearing, and dental. That's
very appealing to people, and
they offer reductions in some
cost sharing for people living
on fixed incomes. That is
particularly attractive. But a
downside or tradeoff for people

(13:24):
is a more limited network of
health care providers, because
that's the way Medicare
Advantage plans work. They also
have cost, cost, and
utilization management tools
like prior authorization. But
so for people who want to see a
certain health care provider

(13:44):
have an attachment to a primary
care doc, a specialist, a
mental health care provider, an
important consideration is
whether that provider is in the
network of the plan, because if
that provider is not in the
network, then the individual
may have to pay a lot more to
go. Continue to see a given
doctor or professional, or may

(14:07):
pay the whole fee out of pocket,
or might just have to
discontinue a long standing
relationship with a provider.
So for people with close
relationships with mental
health providers or someone
who's seeing a cancer
specialist, or someone who has
a rare condition and wants to
be able to travel to see a
certain, you know, expert in

(14:29):
their field, this could be a
very important consideration.
The other consideration I want
to highlight is for people who
choose Medicare Advantage,
maybe because they are
attracted by the extra benefits
and the vision, hearing and
dental, and they're the ways
that they can save money
relative to traditional

(14:51):
Medicare. Some people tell us
that they're going to sign up
for Medicare Advantage for 3 or
4 years and see how it goes,
because they're relatively
healthy and they want the extra
benefits, and they're not so
worried about provider network
restrictions. What can happen,
though, is when people after a
few years when people get sick,

(15:12):
they might say, well, I want to
go back to traditional Medicare
so I can see any specialist,
any hospital virtually across
the country. They can they can
go back to traditional Medicare
during the open enrollment
period, but they might not be
able to buy a medigap, a
Medicare supplement, which many
people on Medicare like to buy,

(15:33):
because that helps fill in the
cost sharing. The Medigap
market is perhaps the only
health insurance product out
there that can still deny
people coverage because of
preexisting conditions, unless
they sign up for Medicare.
Medigap policy when they first
go on Medicare. So that's a

(15:54):
consideration that people just
don't know about, and it can
really trip people up later in
their years when they know they
can go back to regular Medicare,
but they may not be able to buy
Medigap policy. And I've had
friends who have been affected
by this.
>> Yeah. Thank you for sharing
that. That's that's really
crucial. I know a lot of people
are wondering, because of the

(16:15):
federal government shutdown,
that at the time we talked was
in its 23rd day. They may be
curious if this is going to
impact the Medicare enrollment
timeline. That goes until the
December the 7th. Could that
deadline be extended if the
federal government continues to
be shuttered, or does it have
any impact at all on this

(16:36):
process?
>> Well, I think we have to
wait and see. Right now. People
can go on the Medicare Plan
Finder, which is on
Medicare.gov. People can sign
up for plans, people can switch
plans. But if there are
glitches because of staffing
issues or technology issues, or
there's not enough support and

(16:56):
there may not be enough
consumer education, then there
may be a demand to extend the
open enrollment period. I'm,
you know, that will have to
wait and see. I'm not hearing
any about any problems yet, but
we're not done with the
shutdown. And so this could be
an issue separately for people
who are turning 65 and going on

(17:18):
Medicare that you do throughout
the whole year. That's not
limited to the open enrollment
period. And that process
happens through the Social
Security office. So to the
extent Social Security is
staffed up, that should not be
a problem. But if staffing
issues should arise there, then
I can imagine there being

(17:38):
delays and concerns, but I've
not heard of that yet.
>> Earlier this week, we
broadcast a viewer call in
about Medicare enrollment,
where we took dozens of calls
you had about your coverage
options and the costs, so feel
free to check that out online
and on demand at ket.org.

(17:59):
Leaders at the University of
Kentucky have reason to
celebrate UK health care. Just
received a $50 million donation,
its largest in history. The
money comes from entrepreneur
and philanthropist Tom Golisano.
The New York native is the
founder of Paychex, one of the
nation's largest human resource

(18:19):
companies for business. UK
President Eli Capilouto says
the money will help transform
pediatric health care in
Kentucky.
>> Mr. Golisano just doesn't
hand money out. He looks
carefully at the recipients and
I think he has trust in us. He
has confidence in us that we're

(18:40):
going to do what he's done in
life. And that is if you find
something, a challenge, you
need to meet, that challenge.
You need to make things better
for the community.
>> UK's Board of Trustees also
approved Kentucky Children's
Hospital to be renamed. It's
now Golisano Children's at UK.

(19:03):
Two other clinics in UK's
network will also bear his name.
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear
has declared today as Buckle Up,
Phone Down day in Kentucky.
It's a day to promote wearing a
seatbelt and avoiding
distracted driving, the state
says. Every year in Kentucky,
distracted driving results in
about 40,000 crashes, with

(19:25):
11,000 injuries and about 150
deaths. Today is World Stroke
Day, a day to raise awareness
about the signs of stroke, how
to lower your risk, and the
importance of a fast response.
Our Christie Dutton spoke with
the Stroke Certified Registered
Nurse about the most important

(19:47):
things everyone should know
about strokes. More about that
in today's medical news.
>> Here to talk to us about
stroke care. Stroke prevention
is Rosa Hart. You are a stroke
nurse navigator at Norton
Health Care and the host of
world renowned podcast Stronger

(20:07):
After Stroke. How many
countries? 91 countries.
>> That's right. It's heard in
91 countries and prescribed all
over the place. When someone
goes home after having a stroke
for answers to frequently asked
questions, as well as
encouragement of stroke
survivors and caregivers about
how to have the best quality of
life after stroke.
>> Okay, so you're the one we
need to talk to. Tell us

(20:28):
exactly what is happening when
what is happening, when
somebody is having a stroke and
are there different types?
>> So there's two main types of
stroke that we talk about. The
most common is ischemic strokes.
And that's caused by a clot or
some other obstruction that
stops blood flow to the brain.
And it can be called a brain
attack. Like you would have a

(20:49):
heart attack, but in the brain.
And the other kind is
hemorrhagic, which is a brain
bleed, but not due to an injury,
more like a spontaneous.
>> Okay from a blood vessel
bursting. Okay, so those are
the two types. Do they have
different signs or is it the
same sign to kind of detect if

(21:10):
somebody's having a stroke?
>> We use the same signs of
stroke to identify whether or
not you should call 911. And
that is be fast where B is for
balance. So a sudden change in
balance E is for eyes, a sudden
change in vision. F is for face
where one side may have a droop,
a facial droop, a is for arms

(21:31):
where one arm may be weaker
than the other. S is for speech
like slurred speech, and T is
for time where time saved is
brain saved. So if you or
anyone else is experiencing new
signs of a stroke, call 911 and
get to the E.R. immediately.
>> Time saved is brain saved.
So you call 911. When you see

(21:54):
any of these signs, you get to
the hospital. What happens then?
How is it diagnosed?
>> So typically they go to get
a CT of the head to see if
there is that bleeding we
talked about. And if there's
not a sign of bleeding then
they may be eligible. Depending
on a set of questions they will
be asked for a clot busting
medication that can open up the

(22:15):
blood flow and restore their
function and reverse their
symptoms.
>> Okay. Which type of stroke
is more common? The brain bleed
or the clot?
>> The clot, which is called
ischemic and 80% of strokes are
preventable.
>> Okay. So there are
preventable. So how do we
prevent it then.
>> The number one thing we can

(22:35):
do to prevent strokes is
control blood pressure. And
that goes in both cases blood
pressure when it's too high
strains those blood vessels.
And if that's chronic damage,
that irritation to the blood
vessels can lead to the
obstructions forming or cause a
rupture.
>> Okay. So lower blood
pressure. Are there any risk

(22:56):
factors that are genetic
besides high blood, which I
guess can be genetic?
>> Well, it could be genetic,
but it's one of the things we
can control. So there are
genetic risk factors. But most
like I said, 80% are
preventable, which means there
are things we can do to stop
them. That includes controlling

(23:16):
blood sugar. If you're diabetic,
you're twice as likely to have
a stroke as anyone who is not
diabetic because of the strain
that puts on your entire body.
Also, cholesterol. If your
cholesterol is high, that
increases your stroke risk. Any
kind of nicotine use, whether
it's smoking, vaping or taking
nicotine another way, it has a
reaction on your blood vessels

(23:38):
and it increases your blood
pressure. And so nicotine is
not a safe thing to be
stressing your body with.
>> What about men versus women?
>> So women actually are more
likely than men to have a
stroke. And it may not be
picked up on because they may

(24:00):
have signs that are different,
such as fatigue, confusion,
generalized weakness, things
like that. And but generally
those are things we can
recognize are in the be fast.
And that is the same for both.
>> Okay. Tell me one myth that
you would like to get out of
the way about strokes or stroke

(24:23):
survivors or stroke prevention.
>> Oh. Just one. Okay. Can I
tell you two?
>> Yes, you can.
>> Tell me. Okay. Kids can have
strokes too. Stroke is the in
the top ten leading killers of
children. And so it's important
to know the signs of stroke at
any age. Other stroke myth I

(24:44):
really want to bust is that
your recovery is over after
about six months to a year.
Neuroplasticity shows us that
recovery is possible years into
the future. And there are
exciting innovations being
developed with technologies and
physical, occupational and
speech therapy. There's pelvic
floor therapy and vision rehab.

(25:06):
So there are so many options to
help direct that
neuroplasticity to have a
better recovery. So giving
people hope is the most
important thing that I would
want to put out there.
>> Yeah, I like that. Well Rosa
Hart from Norton Health Care,
thank you so much. This has
been so informative. So thank
you so much for being here.

(25:27):
>> You're so welcome.
>> We are just days away from
the Kentucky Book Festival, so
it's an appropriate time to ask

(25:48):
our children reading enough.
And is one particular
generation of parents doing
enough to encourage reading in
their kids? We'll talk about
the importance of books and
helping children learn that
story, and much more tomorrow
night on Kentucky Edition,
which you know to join us for
at 630 eastern, 530 central,
where we inform, connect and
inspire. We hope you'll connect
with us all the ways you see on

(26:10):
your screen by the social media
channels Facebook, Instagram
and X, formerly known as
Twitter. And we always
encourage you to send us a
story idea by email to Public
Affairs at ket.org, or look for
us on the PBS app that you can
download on your smart devices,
and check us out to watch
programs online on demand at
ket.org. I'm Renee Shaw, take