Klobuchar and Warren release rural policy plans - Entrepreneur Generations

Democratic presidential hopefuls Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar have released policy plans for rural America.

Amy Klobuchar

Klobuchar's plan, which she is pitching to voters on a tour of Iowa this week, would aim to preserve emergency and outpatient services at rural hospitals by creating a new Rural Emergency Hospital classification under Medicare. She would also review all tariffs and create a national rural export strategy, expand rural childcare assistance, promote renewable energy and biodiesel programs, Ali Vitali and Amanda Golden report for NBC News.

The Minnesota senator wants to expand support systems for family-owned farms, including federal crop insurance programs, and increase the maximum loan amount farmers and ranchers can receive from the Farm Service Agency. "She’ll also increase the size of the FSA’s loan portfolio to make sure more farmers can access it, and offer a new tax credit to farmers that help beginning farmers get in business – be it by selling land or equipment to them," Vitali and Golden report.

The plan also includes a hefty broadband expansion plan, as well as investment in other infrastructure like bridges, highways, airports, and railroads. It also aims to expand housing, healthcare and transportation access for rural vets and seniors. Klobuchar also vows to fight discrimination in communities of color and partner with rural Native American tribes. "Asked by NBC News about how much this plan would cost, Klobuchar’s campaign did not release an estimate," Vitali and Golden report.

Elizabeth Warren

Warren's plan includes an unusual plank: breaking up the biggest agribusinesses to give family farmers a better shot; in a Medium post, the Massachusetts senator mentions the problems with contract chicken farming as an example. "The senator, who has criticized corporations throughout her presidential campaign, said her proposal would reverse anti-competitive mergers in agribusiness, as well as moving away from farm subsidies, toward guaranteeing farmers prices at their cost of production," Julia Manchester reports for The Hill. Warren also vows to fight to give farmers the right to repair their own farming equipment with a national right-to-repair law.

The plan also looks to "improve education, internet service, affordable housing, the opioid crisis and corporate responsibility in rural communities across the country," Manchester reports. Specifically, the plan grants $85 billion for rural broadband buildout.

"Warren also addresses the issue of climate change in her proposal, pledging to lead an effort to decarbonize the agriculture sector in order to reach the goal to reach net-zero emissions by 2030, Manchester reports.

from The Rural Blog https://ift.tt/2YvWHaR Klobuchar and Warren release rural policy plans - Entrepreneur Generations

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