Eye on Albany: Hanna Hopes to ‘Harvest’ Jobs
By Robert Harding, Auburn Pub

Hanna’s plan, called the “HARVEST” plan, focuses on seven areas: High-tech manufacturing, agriculture, reforming taxes, veterans in the workforce, education, strengthening small businesses and transportation and infrastructure.

The seven parts of Hanna’s plan include helping upstate firms compete for contracts to help national security missions focusing on cybersecurity and supporting the Agricultural Credit Expansion Act that would expand farmers’ eligibility for Farm Service Agency loans. Hanna also supports cutting the federal corporate tax rate from 35 to 25 percent and backs legislation that would give tax credits to small businesses who hire a member of the National Guard or Ready Reserve.

“I really believe that, with a national office, the opportunity to effect change locally in terms of jobs is limited, but I do think I should try. This is our first effort at it and we have fundamental and basic notions to build on,” Hanna said in an interview.

Hanna said the HARVEST plan and other efforts to create jobs in upstate New York might not result in “home runs,” or large companies with hundreds or thousands of jobs to offer moving into the area, but he does hope to see results for small businesses.

“We’re looking at finding jobs and opportunities on an isolated basis with small growing companies and we have visited several of them,” he said.

Hanna added later in the interview that his office has reached out to the business community to let them know that he is business friendly and open to hearing their comments and concerns.

After unveiling his HARVEST plan at the TECT plant in Utica on Monday, Hanna spent the rest of the week traveling the district. He toured Glyph Technologies in Cortland on Tuesday, spoke to students at Valley Heights Christian Academy in Norwich on Wednesday, held “open door” office hours at his Oneonta office Thursday and visited Hardy’s Organic Farm in Mohawk on Friday.

You can read the article online HERE