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Jim Gray Voices Concerns about Infrastructure and The Miner's Protection Act

Becca Schimmel

Kentucky’s Democratic U.S. Senate candidate says the state’s economy would get a major boost from an infrastructure overhaul. Lexington Mayor Jim Gray spoke to students Friday at Western Kentucky University.

Gray said if nothing is done by the year 2020 it will take a trillion dollars to fix the nation’s infrastructure problems. The Barren County native cited a report from the American Society of Civil Engineers that gave Kentucky’s infrastructure a grade of C. Gray said lawmakers have to address the declining health of the nation’s roads, bridges and other modes of transportation first.

“What I would do is create a national infrastructure act, a bill, and I would be a champion for infrastructure and through that we will examine the needs and we will prioritize those needs and we will get the projects done,” Gray said.

 

The report from the ASCE gives the nation’s infrastructure an overall grade of D+.

Gray worries that the country’s ability to compete economically will suffer if towns don’t have access to high speed internet. He’s also concerned about retired miners.

Gray said Congress needs to pass the Miner’s Protection Act. More than 12,000 coal miners will lose their health benefits by December 31 if Congress does not pass the bill. Gray said miners have played a big role in shaping the U.S. economy.

“In other words we’ve built our country on the backs of coal miners and this is a time when we don’t need to be turning our backs on them. We don’t need to be using language like the war on coal as a wedge issue,” Gray said.

Gray is challenging Republican Rand Paul in Kentucky’s Senate race. Paul has voiced concern regarding the Miner’s Protection Act.

 

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