Hagan Unveils Plan To Reinvest in Rural Communities

August 1, 2008

GREENSBORO, N.C. – State Senator and U.S. Senate Candidate Kay Hagan (D-Guilford) today unveiled her plan to reinvigorate North Carolina’s rural communities which have been such a vibrant, important part of the state’s history and contributes more than $70.8 billion annually to the economy. Since 2003, the year Elizabeth Dole took office, North Carolina has lost 5,500 farms and only boasts a small percentage of the 302,000 farms it had in 1948.

“North Carolina has long cultural and historical ties to the land and our rural communities are crucial to the future prosperity of this state,” Kay said. “Our rural communities can provide a rich and prosperous quality of life, help feed the world, and meet our future energy needs, but we need leadership that fundamentally understands rural North Carolina’s potential and encourages smart investments to realize it.”

Kay’s decade-long record in the North Carolina Senate, including five years as budget chair, has included a strong record advocating for North Carolina’s rural communities. Kay’s record stands in contrast to Elizabeth Dole, who gave up a seat on the Agriculture Committee to become the chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, a political organization that focuses on electing Republicans to the U.S. Senate. Kay has allocated nearly $300 million to the rural economic development center to help poverty-stricken areas of North Carolina, worked to invest $380 million in rural infrastructure, $20 million for community health centers, and worked to increase technological access by supporting a technology center pilot program for rural communities.

“While Elizabeth Dole’s service in Washington for more than 40 years is commendable, she’s just out of touch with North Carolina and has become a rubberstamp for the Bush Administration,” Kay said. “While voting with President Bush 92% of the time, she voted against tax credits for renewable energy, against drought and flood relief, and against rural education grants, all of which have hindered rural North Carolina’s move into the future, North Carolinians, especially those in rural areas, need a new voice in Washington that prioritizes the needs of working families ahead of the needs of special interests and their lobbyists.”

Kay’s “Reinvesting in Rural Roots” plan includes three ideas to move rural North Carolina forward:

1. Ensure agricultural productivity.
2. Create a clean energy future.
3. Enhance rural communities.

In order to ensure productivity, Kay supports funding increases for research and development at North Carolina State and North Carolina A&T. Her plan promotes accountable trade, continues support of crop insurance and disaster relief, and encourages young people to become farmers by supporting tax incentives and loan forgiveness. She believes the tobacco buyout should help transition farmers to innovative, value-added, diversified crops. To ensure tax fairness, Kay would index federal estate and gift tax exemptions for inflation to lower the burdens on farmers should inflation increase.

Kay’s plan calls for implementing energy efficiency programs and producing more renewable energy, which would benefit rural research, manufacturing and agriculture systems by growing and producing energy all throughout the state. Reports have revealed that by 2020, clean energy could net North Carolina 300,000 new, clean jobs that cannot be outsourced. Kay’s energy plan, released months ago, favors repealing tax incentives given to oil companies by Washington and reinvesting that money in alternative and renewable fuels such as wind, solar, hydro and biofuels like switchgrass, timber biomass and industrial sweet potatoes.

In order to harness the networking, educational, and workforce development capabilities of the internet, Kay will push for every American to have access to affordable broadband technology by 2015, which will encourage job creation. She will work with local communities to provide expanded access to quality health care in rural areas. Kay also wants to improve educational opportunities and has been a strong supporter of North Carolina’s 58 community colleges, which help expand workforce development and entrepreneurship.

On Friday and Saturday, Kay will be in eastern North Carolina, touring local farms and rural health care centers and holding roundtable discussions with farmers and fishermen. Kay will be in western North Carolina on Wednesday, discussing her rural plan and touring a local wind farm.

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