sanchez, vice chair of the house democratic caucus, said, it's time to pass the torch to a new generation of democratic leadership. ms. sanchez: i think our leadership does a tremendous job but i do think we have this real breadth and depth of talent in our congress and i do think it's time to pass the torch to a new generation of leaders. i want to be part of that transition. i want to see that happen. i think we have too many really great members here that, you know, don't always get the opportunity that they should. i would like to see that change. >> would nancy pelosi win a caucus leadership fight right now if she were challenged? ms. sanchez: i don't know. there are a lot of members in our caucus. everybody has their opinion. i just don't know what the answer to that is. >> by saying it's time for a generational change, what you're suggesting is, win or lose after next year it's time for her to

go? ms. sanchez: i don't want to single her out. >> her, steny hoyer, jim clyburn, all three of them? ms. sanchez: i think it's time to pass the torch to a new generation. they're all of the same generation. their contributions to the congress and the caucus are substantial. but i think there comes a time when you need to pass that torch and i think it's time. >> you can see all of our conversation with congresswoman linda sanchez this sunday on "newsmakers" at 10:00 p.m. eastern on c-span. the senate budget committee is scheduled to resume work on the 2018 budget at 2:30 p.m. eastern. swreel live coverage when they do return. until then, part of today's "washington journal"." bus today, tn is in frankfurt, the capital of the, of kentucky. this is our seventh stop on a 50 state capitals tour.

joining us on the bus with the president of the kentucky state city, robert stivers. senator stivers, thanks for being with us. frankfurt is one of the smallest state capitals, about 25,000 or so people. what are the dynamics of having a capital in a small city when you have lexington and louisville relatively close by? guest: i think it is a good dynamic because being in a small town, i think it helps the economy here. but also, not being overwhelmed by the volume you would have in orajor city like louisville a good city that has sufficient size, but not a huge population. i think it creates a good dynamic. i think it emphasizes the state government and it is not overlooked being part of the bigger conglomerate. invited you on to talk about some of the fiscal issues

that kentucky is facing. aswant to invite her viewers well to talk about some of the fiscal issues their states are facing. but what is the fiscal situation right now in kentucky? aren'twell, our revenues growing very well. we are having a very slow recovery coming out of the recession. on top of that, we had some major expenditures. we are currently doing with. we have pension problems, which is not uncommon with many states. those two combined with slow growth and large obligations to our pensions, and unfunded liability, create an answer an uncertaineate dynamic. host: what are some of the approaches the state is taking to address the pension issue? several billions dollars short at this point. i have made the

statement that we need something that is morally right and illegally defensible, and fiscally responsible. we do have obligations to people who came into the system, so we want to try to meet those obligations for people who are going to come into the system. for a new hire, they will be under a new system. doing these two things about being -- along with putting additional moneys, we will come up with a good plan between now and the end of the year for a special session. you want specifics. we can get to send specifics, but if you get into assumptions andthe validity of those, how you mesh those with obligations, it gets pretty detailed and we would be here for quite sometime. but i think basically those of the two areas that i think we are looking at -- changing the system for new hires and going

forward with a system that limits, or caps are exposure over the period of time we need to to come back into compliance within the budgetary parameters that we have. host: senator robert stivers, president of the kentucky state senate is our guest. the numbers are on the screen. kentucky residents 202-748-8000. all others call 202-748-8001. are you moving with my defined-benefit plan? 2013, we wentg in to what we call hybrid cash balance, which was more of a defined contribution. we have to in the long run, when you look at the states around us that have done this, some have

gone back and forth, but overall, i think most have concluded that a defined contribution is a better plan for a fiscal --better plan from a fiscal standpoint. if you get and hail appropriate rate -- if you get an appropriate rate of return, it is a better plan for the recipients as well. host: are you getting pushback from state employees? most stateink employees want to be able to complete their service in the state under the belief, or parameters for when they were hired. i think from that perspective, most know that it has to change for all new hires. so i don't think there is a lot of pushback from current employees, as long as we meet the obligation to them. host: now, senator stivers, your governor has called for cuts in the state budget. is the state budget balanced at

this point? what is it, 21 billion over the next two years? andy you have a balanced budget amendment in your state? -- and do you have a balanced budget amendment in your state? guest: we are a balanced budget amendment. we give the authority to the governor to make cuts. are we balanced? we have to balance. the governor takes the necessary steps towards the end of the fiscal year to make sure we do balance. we run about $11.3 billion in is 22.5ral fund, which billion over the. period. we have had some shortfalls, but i think this past year based on what we did in a reserve account, the governor was able to conclude our year with not much money in a savings account, but we were balanced. host: do you support the cuts

that the governor has proposed? um, he has not really proposed any cuts. he has asked his cabinet to look at potential ways to cut up to a percentage. we have not seen any detailed orn for how corrections health and human services, or tourism, or parks, or transportation would cut their budgets. it has just been asked to go to a certain percentage. so to say that i agree or disagree would be a little premature. until we see a defensive plan, i would not want to try to assume or guess what that plan may entail. host: for that be a part of the special session as well, or just the pension issue? as it stands now, there would be nothing related to the budget and a special session. it would be exclusive to dealing with the pension problem we have

in the state of kentucky. host: when you talk to officials from other states, is kentucky unique here in facing some of the budgetary and pension issues that you are facing? guest: i don't think we are unique at all. recently, i came back from a meeting with many of my colleagues who are senate president score in comparable positions in other states, and illinois has just gone through this. utah did it a few years ago. withear about the problems the pension systems all throughout the united states. it has been well-written though. some of th. have aell-known that we serious pension problem as well as other states. ours may be a little more dire than others, but still, many states are dealing with it, and they are dealing.

with sluggish budgets -- and they are giving the sluggish budgets. host: how do you think kentucky got into the situation? guest: i have had discussions with many people on this, including the press yesterday, and the governor because coming from the outside into the governmental world, and i have been here 20 years, many people say the legislature kicked the hca down the roadn -- kicked the can down the road. there were red flags back in 2006 and 2007. thingseen many different and that -- it has been many different things. there were bad assumptions being used by the respective controlling boards of the pension systems. and that is where i talk about assumptions.

but when you are starting to assume, you are going to get a 7.5% return on your investment in virtually any rating agency or any investment groups say you should not move more than a 6% rate of return. that get you into trouble really quick. plus, the fact that we were paying out pensions much longer than the working life of the individual. pensions were never envisioned to be that. people can relate that back to the newt gingrich/bill clinton days when we had to reform social security. life expectancies have gone up. so, there are a series of things that have perfected the perfect storm to create pension problems for many states. and we're going to have to we are goingtick -- to have to reevaluate state-by-state. host: what is your personal view on tax increases? guest: i am not in favor of tax increases. the government to me is kind of like something you need to take

control over. it can be good in many ways, but you don't want it to get out of control. it is kind of like keeping your dog on a leash. you want to control it, but you don't -- but it is a good thing as long as you can control it. we have to make sure our government is as efficient as possible. there are things that we are testing on that we are properly spending money on governmental functions. and if we don't have requisite revenues after we look the public in the eye and said, we have done all these things to make sure we are being good stewards of your tax dollars, and we still cannot meet our obligations, then you may have to look at additional revenues, but only after we do our due diligence, making sure we have an efficient government that doesn't have any waste, fraud, or abuse in it. host: senator stivers, you mentioned that the kentucky

state budget on a yearly basis is about $11.3 billion in the general fund. what is the majority of that money go? -- where does the majority of that money go? guest: the majority of that will go through education. 50% will going to that area. then it breaks down into corrections, social services. , bonding, butess over 50% will go into education, and that is the largest portion of our budget. host: when it comes to medicaid dollars and the affordable care act, where does kentucky stand? look, it is ally, laudable goal we want to have coverage for everyone, and we want to have efficient coverage. anyon't want to drop off for the delivery of medical services or delivery of insurance or acquisition of insurance, but to that extent, i think the aca or obamacare has been an unmitigated disaster.

i do not dispute the rules of the numbers that 20,000 more people, or 20 million more people are on some type of insurance, but what type of insurance is that? if you are talking about that poverty level, or just above the poverty level, the working poor, i had a friend tell me i did not realize that my level of income that i had a $5,000 deductible before i had coverage. i think people need to understand that. --il they go to the doctor before they go to the doctor after write that check. that has something that has been sold that is not really insurance. it is a catastrophic plan, but it is a laudable goal, but i don't think it is workable because on the backside, for those individuals who are in the private markets, their rates are up, and the middle class rates are up catastrophically to where they cannot afford, so they are

having to choose between pensions -- between insurance payments and some other household needs, or some of their, you know, recreational things that people need on occasions to take part in. is the unemployment rate in kentucky, which is higher than the national average , about 4.6 million people live in the commonwealth. one of them is dean in louisville. you are on c-span was senator robert stivers. caller: good morning mr. stivers. i cannot say the company name, ago, --or seven years [indiscernible] -- one off my friends my friends retarded 44 years old.

[indiscernible] they're retiring earlier and earlier. telling my kid's generation that they are only going to get social security. host: senator? i really had a hard time picking up what his question was. it was broken on my earpiece. i know he was talking about something related to a 401(k) and people retiring in their 40's, which people cannot retire cannot40's and make -- retire in their 40's and make the pension system work. the only thing i really picked up that i could understand was

that. i did not hear a lot of what he was saying. host: i think you caught the just of what he was saying. of what he was saying. let's go to lee. caller: good morning, sir. thank you for your service. guest: thank you. caller: i would like to ask, what part of the pension -- in as' in a fit is benefit is medical coverage and pure money? host: why do you ask that question? caller: i work for a private industry, but some of my friends at work for public entities, they found out, they experienced that their medical costs, because medical costs are so high, it is really cutting into their benefits, and for the next

generation, the state workers and county workers, they are cutting the benefits because the medical costs are so high that they are not getting the monetary returns on their money that they voluntary -- that they voluntary put in -- that they voluntarily put in. guest: he is correct. part of the driver, the cost-driver in a retirement system is the indemnity, which is the cash component that is paid to the retiree each and every month, and the medical benefit is also a cost-driver. we have been fortunate in the state of kentucky to be able to keep those costs down for the retirees and for state employees. it has not been as big of a cost-driver as it has another states, but to give you an exact

percentage, i couldn't, but i agree with him. i agree with lee. it is something that the state spends a lot of money on, but i 70/30.give you 60/40, or i don't have those numbers in front of me. host: where is your district, senator stivers? guest: i am in the southeast portion of the state of kentucky. just above theok tennessee line, i have a couple of counties that touch the tennessee border. if you are familiar with history and geography, i am not far from the cumberland gap the daniel boone walk through several years ago to come into kentucky. that is predominantly the bulk of my area along i 75 and the tennessee border is before you get to the eastern point of the cumberland gap. host: and bill in chicago, you are on the" the washington journal." caller: i have a plan.

social security at best. it would work for any pension plan, public or private, and it will pay over a billion dollars a year in social security, every year. oft: bill, what is the just your plan -- what is the gist of your plan? caller: social security can be an asset. income can benefit social security if the recipients have flat 5% fee. it could be repaid through deductions and 10 months or less , at no more than 10% of your total a month. it must be paid in full before another one is given.

that formula could work for any pension plan in any land. host: that was bill in chicago. senator stivers, how was the governor, matt bevin doing in your view? i am: well, um, naturally, a republican and he is a republican. i think he has got a lot of good ideas and we have a lot of good discussions on how we want to move this state. we had a very successful session this past spring where we think that we passed a lot of legislation that will stimulate and spur growth. we have already seen some of the benefits with some major announcements of job growth, job development, some reinvestment and new investment. ,e are well ahead of the pace and well ahead of any prior records for announcements of investments.

so, i think the governor has done a wonderful job and going out and selling this state and recruiting people to the state. , theorking with myself senate republican caucus, and the house republican caucus to pass legislation to create great job growth. when you think about that, that is really what spurs our economy. and i want to say this about the state of kentucky. it is a wonderful state. tremendous location. we're within a 10 hour drive of almost two thirds of the population. great diversity from the river city -- the diversity from the mississippi river valley to the appalachian trail. we are going to continue to change the dynamics. uruguay to have a wonderful state that people want to come to paris i forgot about -- we are going to have a wonderful state that people want to calm

to. host: i know one of and her viso frederick, kentucky continues, and joining us now on the new c-span bus is a kentucky secretary of state, alison lundergan grimes. she is a democrat. secretary grimes, what is the rolling of the secretary of tate? guest guest: good morning. it is a pleasure to be here. changes from state to state. i am currently serving my second state. i'm the chief business official watching over all of the businesses that operate in the commonwealth small to large. and also the chief election official, watching over all of the elections. but more importantly that your viewers can appreciate, it takes me into all of our schools from middle school to collect all across the commonwealth and

serving as the chief advocate for human engagement. making sure voices make a difference. host: you mention you are the chief election official. a lot of news and talk in washington about election security. what are your concerns in kentucky? guest: well, obviously, as we are watching what is happening nationally, with the commission that was set up literally based to take out a security that our president has for losing the popular vote, my fear is that right now, nationally what we are seeing at best, a waste of taxpayer dollars. edwards, one of the largest voter suppression efforts this nation has ever seen. here in kentucky, watching over our elections is something i am do andged and humbled to to serve in that capacity, making sure that we are breaking down barriers to our ballot box. that has been my mission for the past seven years.

we have come a long way helping our military and overseas voters don't access to our ballot box. helping victims of domestic violence with our programs, and expanding early voting for folks without an excuse. for example, people with a disability or illness. my hope over the next two years, we will see early voting come to the commonwealth. we are already the 32nd state in the nation to launch online voter registration with govote kentucky.com. we have to give people an opportunity to vote. some people are out and out the door and not able to come to the polls on election day. we need to get people ample time to vote. we can do that by becoming an early voting state.

it is my hope you will see the general assembly, that has long been a part of making our laws forward, will join in an effort that people in kentucky are demanding. host: if you want to talk to the kentucky secretary of state, alison lundergan grimes, kentucky residents, the top line, and all others on the bottom line. is -- and id requirement to vote in kentucky? guest: we do have voter id laws in the state. you are either to be known by your precinct election officer. we have 3700 precinct offices in the state monitored by 300 election officers. four in the event you are not known, you have to show a drivers license, a social security card, credit card, or another form of id. host: you mentioned the president voter commission. what was requested from you a

secretary of state from that commission, what was your response? guest: well, earlier this summer, we saw the president, when he was a candidate, had claims that are system was rigged. then upon becoming president, continued with false allegations completely unfounded that folks from both sides of the aisle have condemned. that folks voted illegally in the last election. this commission was set up out of and insecurity of the president to chase down fiction that literally facts do not exist to support. those of the claims he perpetrated and made accusations of prior to becoming president, and then after being elected. and what we have seen instead of going after what is the biggest problem our nation is facing, people actually participating in our elections, the lack of people participating in our elections, they are requesting

that every secretary of state across the nation, official site myself, for every registered voter, their name, address, the party registration, their voting history, and the last four digits of your social security number. this is information that invades the privacy of 3.3 million kentuckians and millions across this nation. and it is something i was not willing to sacrifice the privacy of folks here in our state for an insecurity of the president. in the 10th amendment, which leads elections to the state, that is her best asset we have. that is the reason why the headlines for the efforts we saw with interference in our elections, want worse. system true asset of our and something i was not going to sacrifice because of the insecurity of our president, cynthia commission that is not

demonstrated that it started off even on the right foot, seeking information for the right purposes. host: let's hear from some callers. let's begin with randy in michigan. hi, randy. caller: i want to thank the secretary for the work she has been doing to help protect our voter rights. think --on is what you my question is what do you think what do you think the true purpose for getting this data is? guest: randy, thank you for your question.

we have family in michigan. i can only speculate as to what the purpose of this commission is, but what we have seen the lack of ability for the public to give input. not actually encouraging voter participation. wingof them are from right columns. breitbart supporters. they are chasing after fiction that the president continues to try to put forth to the public to try to accept a fiction many officials, like myself, saying there is no basis for. saying millions voted illegally in this last election. i don't think we need to be creating a national voter file. every registered voter's ones whoon, especially

reside in the white house, we don't need it to be -- we don't need to make it easier for foreign actors to harbor our information. ron is in paducah, kentucky. you are on with alison lundergan grimes. guest: i want to personally thank you for standing up to washington to protect my voter information from intrusion. you, ron.l, thank it is a pleasure and a privilege. and it is something that not only myself, but there are 40 secretaries across the state that of said no to the request from the voter sham commission which is what i like to call it. upare not willing to put information. your information, to me, whether it is the work we do in the office of secretary of state or the attorney general protecting

it through equifax, we take up responsibility seriously. host: what kind of systems does kentucky use for voting. what has been done in the last couple of years to enhance security? systems, wef our are in the process of auditing our entire election infrastructure from our online voter registration to the systems used on election day. none of our systems on election they are hooked to the internet. fore is no wire capability the possibility of intrusion, which is something that public should know -- that the public should know and feel protected in. in terms of the audit capability of our systems, we are in the process of reviewing all the systems that are used. we are taking a cue from our sisters, a fellow commonwealth in virginia.

decertifying machines. our elections in the state, we are grateful to have over 120 amazing county clerks who do wonderful jobs. 15,000 precinct election officers that help watch over our systems. but we always know that the possibility, the likelihood, the potential threat, they exist and they are out there each and every day. as i see here right now, we want to stay ahead of the curve and that is what we will continue to do in this state, not only watching the equipment we use making sure it is up-to-date and ,efensible with a paper trail for the public to have confidence in the system. host: let's hear from another bureau calling from london, kentucky. hello. grimes.hello, ms. i was so touched and uplifted by

your grace. london, a restaurant in and the parents were leading the children in a chant "i hate obama, i hate obama." it was so sad. i would like your response. don'the poor -- i get the disconnect. host: secretary, grimes? guest: thank you for your question. obviously, i am one of two democrats elected statewide in kentucky and one of the last women remaining in the south. in terms of your commitment to the state and educated voters, it goes a long way. there is lot of work still to do.

i believe in the first amendment and the freedom of expression, but i have to respect the work that are former president did, leading us out of a horrible recession and increasing our economy, making sure people could get back to work. but there is more work left to be done. the economy in kentucky, we have worked still yet to do. revenues still to find and people we want to make sure have good paying jobs. here in kentucky, a big part of the work that i do as an elected official, and something we need to do more of, is educating folks about what is occurring in our capitals and what our general assemblies are actually revealing. right now, across the nation, we have 100 bills in over 30 states that are seeking to make it harder for people to vote. i hope that is something that you will speak out about.

get out and get loud, as i like to say. we need more people participating in this process to make sure it isn't a few dictating things for a majority, but in majority of folks participating in the system, making decisions for not only kentucky, but this nation. host: is there another senate run in you or another office in kentucky? guest: well, i sure appreciate the encouragement and inquisitive question. i am really happy doing the work i am doing right now. 200 29 days from now, it will be our 2018 election. it is a huge balance where we will have all of our officials on the ballot, as well as our entire state house of representatives, state senate, several congressional races on the ballot. my focus is making sure we are prepared for 2018, especially with all of the discussions that

we have had on the heels of this presidential election, and the foreign actors continuing to interfere with our democracy. one of our great equalizers that we have is our ballot box. grow our economy, making it easier for people to do business in the state, and breaking down barriers so people can go to that ballot box in 2018 successfully. and from there, maybe we can talk further. host: alison lundergan grimes is kentucky's secretary of state. we want to thank her and the city of frankfurt as well as the frankfurt plant board, which is our cable partner in frankfurt for th >> you can find all of our past visits to state capitals, type in 50 capitals