Clinton offers rural proposals in Iowa

According to a copy of the plan provided by the campaign, Clinton promises to boost rural economic investment, increase agricultural production, promote clean energy and enhance access to health care and education.

Clinton’s plan focuses first on encouraging investment in farms and other rural businesses. She would expand the New Markets Tax Credit, which gives investors a federal tax credit for investments in businesses located in low-income areas.

Specifically for farms, Clinton will say she will double funding for the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development program, which provides training and assistance to the next generation of farmers and ranchers. It includes more money for programs that help new farmers and increase access to fresh food.

“There is a fierce loyalty to Hillary Clinton among likely Democratic caucus-goers in Iowa”, said David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center in Boston.

“Hillary Clinton understands that some of the deepest and most pronounced poverty exists in rural areas of the country”, Vilsack wrote. Clinton says she will seek to strengthen the renewable fuel standard, but does not provide further details.

The plan also calls for improving healthcare in rural areas by expanding telehealth and remote patient monitoring It also called for better prevention and treatment of substance abuse, noting that drug-associated deaths have grown fastest in rural areas.

Clinton’s plan draws in part from stories and insights that she has collected from people she has met on the campaign trail.

While she remains the front-runner in the Democratic primary contest, Clinton has struggled with questions over her use of a private email account and server as secretary of state.

Clinton is interrupting a vacation in the Hamptons in New York with a Midwestern campaign swing.