Policies.

Kentuckians are paying too much for groceries, gasoline, electricity, housing, and medicine. I will cut taxes for working and middle-class families, lower costs for everyday necessities and excessive fees, protect Social Security and Medicare, and defend workers' freedom to organize for better wages and benefits.

“Stupid” is the only word I have for going to war with your trade partners, but tariffs and our trade wars from this White House have caused everything to go up, from gas to toys. On day one, I will introduce a joint resolution revoking the fake “national emergency” that President Trump has used to raise tariffs that have made everything cost more and hurt Kentucky businesses.

Blanket tariffs and trade wars are hidden taxes. They continue to raise prices, increase costs for farmers, and invite retaliation against Kentucky bourbon. The House has introduced this resolution, but Andy Barr does not support it, effectively rubber-stamping a stupid trade war that is being waged at your expense. It ends on day one if I am elected.

According to AAA Kentucky, the average price for regular unleaded is $4.13 per gallon, up from roughly $2.79 a year ago, all because of a war we didn't ask for that I would fight to end on day one.

To keep gas affordable, I would commit on day one to:

• Ending the war in Iran.
• Suspending the Federal Gas Tax for a year to give Kentuckians immediate relief at the pump.
• Allowing year-round sales of additional ethanol and fuel blends like E15 so that more fuel is available for Kentuckians at the pump.
• Developing a strategy to replenish the Strategic Petroleum Reserve so that reserves are in place to prevent future spikes in gas prices.

On day one, I would support a national moratorium on all new data center construction. No new data centers should be built until we know what they do to our water and our utility bills and environment.

I would commit to:

• Supporting the Artificial Intelligence Data Center Moratorium Act that would pause all new data center construction and ensure that existing data centers pay the full costs of their impact on our energy bills and pause construction of new data centers; and,
• Supporting the Clean Cloud Act to limit the impact that existing data centers have on our environment.

Kentuckians deserve to know what the data centers that want to come to the Commonwealth will mean for our bottom lines and for our communities, and until we know that, no new data centers should be built in Kentucky.

Kentuckians have seen their utility bills increase by about 20% since 2021, with some Kentuckians seeing spikes of up to 41%. In addition to paying less at the pump, on day one if I am elected, I will co-sponsor:

• the Ratepayer Protection Act (requiring large data centers to fully cover their utility costs so that they aren't passed onto families);
• the Energy Bills Relief Act (allowing renewable energy to move power across state lines so that cheaper power can move across state lines); and,
• an expansion of federal grants for heating and cooling assistance, home weatherization, and energy efficiency so that our houses can use less energy and consumers can pay less every month.

No one should be in office as long as Mitch McConnell has, and no one should go to Congress and become wealthier as a result like Andy Barr has. We can't expect different results from Washington while sending the same people every year.

I commit to draining the swamp in Washington on day one by introducing legislation that would include:

• Supporting a constitutional amendment to establish lifetime term limits on members of Congress.
• Banning members of Congress from trading stock while they're in office.
• Banning members of Congress from becoming lobbyists once they leave Congress.
• Stopping the President and other elected officials from profiting from private business ventures while in office.
• Requiring that the President and Vice President publicly disclose their tax returns in the same way that members of Congress have to.
• Suspending the statute of limitations for federal crimes committed by a president or vice president while in office.

Kentuckians now pay more than $1,000 extra per month for health insurance since Andy Barr voted to cut Medicaid.

I commit to making healthcare affordable on day one for all Kentuckians, including:

• Restoring the Affordable Care Act subsidies that Andy Barr voted to eliminate;
• Supporting the State Public Option Act that would build on our successful expansion of Medicaid in Kentucky by giving every Kentuckian the ability to purchase into a public insurance option run by the Commonwealth, not Washington, if they want to.
• Lowering prescription drug costs by expanding the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program (so that the prices Medicare recipients pay for prescription drugs, all Kentuckians would be able to pay) and setting upper limits on what pharmaceutical companies can charge by tying U.S. drug prices to average costs in other countries like Canada.

If you like your insurance, you can keep it. If you pay too much for your insurance, we'll help you pay for it. And, if you want to buy into a public plan, we'll provide the marketplace for it.

No Kentuckian should be more than a few minutes away from an urgent care facility or an emergency room, and no Kentuckian should be more than an hour away from a trauma center. But, because of Andy Barr and the One Big Beautiful Bill that he supported, at least 35 Kentucky hospitals are at risk of closing.

I am committed to reversing the damage that Andy Barr has brought to rural Kentucky by:

• Reversing the One Big Beautiful Bill's cuts to Medicaid;
• Permanently extending the Rural Transformation Fund that will reopen closed rural hospitals;
• Expanding the federal government's investment in telemedicine, including making the telehealth flexibilities from COVID permanent; and,
• Supporting expanded federal investments in the next generation of rural doctors and healthcare workers.

By cutting Medicaid, Andy Barr has turned his back on some of our most vulnerable Kentuckians. And, despite being in Washington for over a decade, Andy Barr has no record of being there for vulnerable Kentuckians.

On day one, I would commit to:

• Expanding Medicaid's Home and Community-Based Services to provide support for Kentuckians with intellectual, developmental, and physical disabilities;
• Opposing Medicaid cuts that threaten specialized medical, dental, and community providers relied upon by disabled Kentuckians;
• Providing targeted federal grants to raise low wages for direct support professionals (DSPs) that provide care and support to disabled Kentuckians, resolving staff shortages that limit care access.
• Modernizing SSI/SSDI Limits to put more money in the hands of families caring for disabled Kentuckians instead of millionaires to complement programs like STABLE Kentucky.
• Restoring education grants cut by the Trump Administration for specialized student learning and transition programs under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
• Expanding support for employers and training providers that provide vocational rehabilitation and competitive integrated employment initiatives to close the employment gap for Kentuckians with disabilities.

Military power is a tool, not a plan. I will work to end the war in Iran, protect American service members, and pursue a durable diplomatic settlement. Sending troops into danger must be a last resort. Presidents should not enter open-ended conflicts without congressional authorization, clear objectives, legal authority, and an exit strategy.

• I will support a strong military alongside effective diplomacy, intelligence, cybersecurity, key alliances, and secure critical supply chains.
• I will fully fund veterans' health care, improve rural and mental health access for veterans, reduce benefit delays, help end veteran homelessness, strengthen the transition to civilian life, and protect military families.

We need to end the war in Iran that we didn't ask for and that is costing Kentuckians at the pump every month and billions in tax dollars that could be reinvested in Kentucky.

• On day one, I will join my colleagues in supporting a War Powers Resolution that will end funding for the war in Iran, bring our troops home, and cut the costs at the pump for Kentuckians.
• Congress has abandoned its role in being a check on the President's ability to wage war, and I will fight to restore Congress' role by introducing on day one the End Senseless Wars Act that would:
  • Call for a full audit of our spending on the war in Iran including identifying no-bid contracts.
  • Ending outdated Authorizations of Use of Military Force from 2001 and 2002 that have been used to justify forever wars like Iran and Afghanistan.
  • Require any new AUMFs have clear geographic limitations and an explicit time period so that any new funding or extensions of war require Congressional supermajorities.
• The War Powers Resolution needs to be modernized to reflect the nature of modern warfare and to reestablish Congress' role in limiting the White House's ability to wage war.
  • Call for a full audit of our spending on the war in Iran including identifying no-bid contracts.
  • Ending outdated Authorizations of Use of Military Force from 2001 and 2002 that have been used to justify forever wars like Iran and Afghanistan.
  • Require any new AUMFs have clear geographic limitations and an explicit time period so that any new funding or extensions of war require Congressional supermajorities.
  • Modernizing the War Powers Resolution Act to establish a clear, modern definition of "hostilities" that covers contemporary actions like cyber warfare and lethal drone strikes, prevent the White House from engaging in military action past 60 days, and making it easier for Congress to challenge executive war powers in federal court.

We spend billions providing foreign aid and defense to Israel that could be invested in our schools, our infrastructure, and to lower prices at home.

On day one, I will introduce a proposal to terminate our annual commitment to Israel that sends nearly $4 billion in foreign aid, and to suspend future military spending and arms sales until a two-state solution is enacted.

Our dollars should go to our communities in the Commonwealth, not a war that we didn't ask for that doesn't make us safer.

Andy Barr fully supports diverting these dollars away from the Commonwealth to foreign conflicts in the Middle East that make us less safe. Bring those dollars back home.

According to the Kentucky Farm Bureau, the Commonwealth has lost approximately 17,000 farms and 1.4 million acres of farmland. With unnecessary wars spiking fuel and diesel prices and trade wars rubber-stamped by Andy Barr, more of our family farms will close. Washington dysfunction also keeps a $1.4 trillion Farm Bill that would buy our products and feed the Commonwealth from passing.

• I will support the $12 billion farm aid package currently stalled in the U.S. Senate and a new farm bill that puts our farmers first.
• I will also join colleagues in the Senate to make both the farm aid package and the Farm Bill a reality, bringing much-needed relief to Commonwealth farmers.

The Trump Administration has waged war on our public schools by withholding federal funds, undermining special education through drastic cuts in staff and funding for special education, and cutting resources to the Department of Education, all on Andy Barr's watch in Washington. Our teachers and educators deserve better.

On day one, I would work to reverse the harmful educational policies of this Administration by:

• Opposing any Trump administration cuts to Title I and IDEA/special education.
• Opposing efforts to divert public funding away from public schools toward private school vouchers.
• Challenging the Trump Administration's efforts to politicize Department of Education grants.
• Cosponsoring the Rural Education Investment Act (increasing Teacher Quality Partnership grant distributions to rural districts), the Invest in Rural Teachers Act (grant programs specifically funding signing and retention bonuses for educators in rural schools), and the Addressing Teacher Shortages Act (to fill teacher vacancies in rural and high-need schools in high-need subject vacancies).
• Investing in the next generation of teachers by co-sponsoring the Transforming Education strengthening the educator pipeline by raising teacher pay, improving working conditions, and enhancing professional resources.

We made a promise to our older Kentuckians that they could retire and live with dignity, and Medicare and Social Security are core to that promise.

On day one, I would propose a “Medicare for the Future” package that would include:

• Adding oral health, vision, and hearing coverage into traditional Medicare to match popular private Medicare Advantage offerings.
• Working to ensure that caps on out of pocket medical expenses for Kentuckians over 65 are effective in ensuring that we limit how much our seniors have to pay outside of their Medicare coverage.
• Lowering Medicare prescription costs by making permanent the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program.
• Supporting the Patients First Act that will pay our doctors fairly that see our Medicare patients in Kentucky and proposals that would equalize payment rates across different clinical settings like telemedicine to incentivize treating Kentuckians no matter where they are in the state.

Every Young Kentuckian should have an opportunity to make a living doing what they love, not be penalized for borrowing money to go to college, and buying a first home that they can afford in Kentucky. Prior generations had the GI Bill and other government programs that helped them and many of us get on our feet and raise our families.

We owe the same to our Young Kentuckians. On day one, I would introduce a series of proposals to help put our young people to work, help them eliminate high-interest student loans, and buy their first home that would include:

• Expanding federal Pell Grant and work study eligibility to high-quality, short-term career and technical education programs, so that our young Kentuckians can get the skills that industry needs quickly.
• Developing a comprehensive proposal for reducing or eliminating existing student debt for Kentuckians by refinancing high-interest student loan debt into lower-interest loans, eliminating student debt for public servants and Kentuckians who go into public service, and capping interest rates on future student loans.
• Propose legislation that would encourage home builders and lenders to pay down student loan debt to ease mortgage approvals.
• Propose First-Time Buyer Credits for down-payment assistance for young and first-generation homebuyers.