Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Amy Klobuchar joined a round table discussion in Manchester Friday on bringing passenger rail to New Hampshire.
Flanked by Mayor Joyce Craig and small business owners, Klobuchar expressed support for a proposal which would bring commuter service from the Boston area to New Hampshire’s Capitol Corridor region.
Klobuchar, a Minnesota Democrat, described rail as a potential economic and demographic boost.
“Our daughter doesn’t have a car, and I think you have so many people of that age group that are in the workforce -- new in the workforce -- and they are not going to want to drive to work,” Klobuchar said.
Klobuchar said she would continue to focus on what she calls “bread and butter” issues, including transportation.
Klobuchar also criticized President Trump for not doing more on infrastructure after pledging to do so.
"He said it the night he got elected,” she said. “I happen to remember that night and he's said it since that time."
Klobuchar said she'd look to an increase in the corporate tax rate to help pay for infrastructure spending.
With many lawmakers currently focused this week on the fallout from the Mueller investigation, Klobuchar said she was capable of both addressing the turmoil in Washington and everyday issues voters are concerned about.
“What we learned in 2018 -- which should be no surprise -- is the No. 1 issue on people’s minds is that they don’t want to get kicked off their insurance for a pre-existing condition,” Klobuchar said. “So, if you don’t talk to them about something that matters to them in their lives, you’re going to lose them.”
Litchfield resident Kevin Mosley, wearing an “Amy for America” pin he’d just picked up, said he's coming to as many candidate events as he can. He liked some of Klobuchar's message.
"I think she's practical and pragmatic,” Mosley said. “I'm almost tired of all the candidates. I just want somebody to make the trains run on time."
