Day 2 #NCFirst Tour: Kay Highlights Military and Education Record in Fayetteville and Raleigh

Press Release

Today, Kay talked with military families at the home of Spring Lake Mayor Chris Rey near Fayetteville for the second day of her North Carolina First (#NCFirst) tour. Kay highlighted her record of results for North Carolina servicemembers, veterans, and military families and spoke with families about what else can be done to honor the promises we've made to them.

Kay met with Army veteran and Spring Lake Mayor Chris Rey and military spouses who talked with Kay about the issues that matter most to North Carolina families. Kay highlighted her clear record of results for our military, which is in clear contrast to Speaker Tillis' record of eliminating the Earned Income Tax Credit, which 64,000 North Carolina military families used. Military spouse, Susan Reynolds, also spoke about Kay's accomplishments for servicemembers and families in Fayetteville.

"From restoring Tuition Assistance, to working to protect military families from predatory lending, and leading the fight to keep the 440th in North Carolina, Senator Hagan can always be trusted to fight for our interests," said Reynolds. "That's the kind of advocate our military families need. And I think that part of the reason Senator Hagan is such an effective advocate for us is because she comes from a military family herself."

"Taking care of our military families is not just policy to me, it's personal," said Kay."I come from a proud military family and I have worked every single day to ensure that North Carolina remains the most military-friendly state in the nation. When I found out that Tuition Assistance benefits for returning servicemembers was abruptly shut off, I took immediate action and passed a bipartisan amendment to reinstate it. I took similar action when a spouse tuition program, MyCAA, was shut off without warning. From working to get F-35Bs in North Carolina to create jobs and boost economic development to working to halt inactivation of the 440th airlift wing, I will always put our servicemembers, veterans, and military families first."

Kay then stopped in Raleigh to talk about her strong record of standing up for North Carolina students, teachers, and middle class families. She was joined by NC State students, Josue Berduo and Rashaad Hamilton, who also spoke. Kay highlighted the clear contrast in this election between her record of putting North Carolina first, and Speaker Thom Tillis' record of cutting $500 million from public education to pay for tax cuts for the wealthy.

In the General Assembly, Speaker Tillis added a tax on college meal plans andended a popular tax credit that helped middle class families save for college. Speaker Tillis also opposes a commonsense bill that Kay co-sponsored that would let graduates refinance their student loan debt at lower interest rates. In the second debate, Speaker Tillis was unable to explain why he opposes that bill that would benefit over 600,000 North Carolinians who are dealing with crippling student loan debt.

"In Raleigh, Speaker Tillis slashed $500 million from public education funding so he could give a tax break to the wealthy," said Kay. "That means larger class sizes, fewer teachers, and outdated textbooks -- if they've even got a textbook at all. While I'm committed to building an economy that works for everyone, Speaker Tillis' agenda on education is proof positive of his effort to rig the system against the middle class and North Carolina deserves better.

"He opposes the bill I voted for, to let graduates refinance their student loan debt at lower rates even though it would have benefitted over 600,000 North Carolinians. And, he added a tax on college meal plans -- so in addition to paying for school, students now have to worry about how they are going to pay for food. Speaker Tillis gives millionaires a tax cut, but students have to worry about how they're going to eat? What kind of priorities are those?"

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