Democratic U.S. Senate Candidate Alison Lundergan Grimes says unlike her opponent Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell she will work for instead of against better Internet access in rural Western Kentucky.
Grimes says McConnell has repeatedly voted in past years against expanding broadband capacity even though online connectivity is vital for attracting businesses.
“Economic prosperity, well, especially in rural and small towns, it cannot be achieved without online connectivity. You know this,” she said. “As your senator I will make federal assistance for expanding broadband capacity my No. 1 priority.”
Grimes’ job plan proposes Kentucky take on an undertaking similar to Kansas City, Missouri’s high-bandwidth Google Fiber project.
Creating incentives to hire veterans and working to keep their benefits were also high on Grimes’ jobs plan for Western Kentucky. She says 15,000 of the more than 330,000 veterans in the state are unemployed.
Grimes plans to permanently expand tax credits that expired in 2013 that reward businesses for hiring veterans. She also supports benefits for working families that McConnell proposed to reduce in 2010.
“The Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Care Tax Credit, they help to make sure that 28,000 military members, 140,000 working military families stay out of poverty,” she said. “They shouldn’t have to fight once they have returned from serving this country for the very benefits they are due and deserve.”
Grimes also included expanding the federal direct farm loan and investing in clean coal technology in her jobs plan tonight in Hopkinsville. More about her plan to come tomorrow.
