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AP: Clinton proposes plan to keep jobs in US

Clinton proposes plan to keep jobs in US

By STEVEN R. HURST, Associated Press Writer
Wed Apr 2, 7:48 AM ET

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton is proposing billions of dollars a year Wednesday to keep jobs from being shipped abroad as she appealed to blue collar workers in Pennsylvania, the next big primary contest where she hopes to trim rival Barack Obama's lead.

Obama seemed to ignore the former first lady, turning his political guns on presumptive Republican nominee John McCain to blast his stands on the Iraq war and the economy.

Clinton has come under pressure from Obama supporters in recent days to drop out of the contest because of what some see as the Illinois senator's insurmountable delegate lead with just 10 primaries and caucuses to go.

But the former first lady showed no signs of quitting as she focused on job creation and challenges to the U.S. economy at campaign appearances across Pennsylvania, which holds the next primary contest on April 22 with 158 delegates at stake.

At an economic summit in Pittsburgh on Wednesday organized by her presidential campaign, Clinton was expected to propose the elimination of tax breaks for companies that move jobs to other countries and use the savings to provide $7 billion a year in tax incentives to persuade companies to "insource" jobs in the United States

Pennsylvania and other states holding upcoming primaries, including Indiana and Kentucky, have suffered the loss of manufacturing jobs in recent years and have yet to transition to new industries and other ways of expanding their economies.

Clinton's plan would offer new tax benefits for research and job development. It would also create "innovation and research clusters" and provide $500 million annually in investments to encourage the creation of high-wage jobs in clean energy.

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