Hillary Clinton is promising broadband Internet for all and a plan to forgive part of student loan debt for young entrepreneurs as part of her technology agenda, reported
Market Watch.
The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee talked about her proposals on Tuesday in Denver as part of her overall technology program. She also posted her plan on her
website Monday.
Clinton's broadband plan would seek to connect all American households to the Internet by the end of the decade through investment in existing efforts like the Connect America Fund, seeking help from federal agencies, and targeting areas not currently served by broadband, according to her website.
"Hillary will finish the job of connecting America's households to the Internet, committing that by 2020, 100 percent of households in America will have the option of affordable broadband that delivers speeds sufficient to meet families' needs."
In her Denver speech, Clinton said young entrepreneurs creating tech start-ups in distressed communities would be eligible for as much as $17,500 in student loan forgiveness after five years, noted Market Watch.
The New York Times said Clinton also floated a deferred payment plan, where "millions of young Americans" could avoid interest or principal loan payments "as they work through the critical start-up phase of new enterprises."
The Times noted that the proposals were an obvious effort to woo young voters, who overwhelmingly voted for her Democratic opponent Bernie Sanders in the primaries.
"Let's make it easier for young people to become entrepreneurs," Clinton said Tuesday, according to prepared remarks. "I've talked to a lot of people in the field, and starting out can be daunting. There's a lot of risk, even if you've got a good idea – how you translate that into a business, how you grow that business, how you make a living from it."
The
Washington Post noted that the Clinton campaign did not estimate the cost of those proposals or explain how she would pay for them and other promises she made in her overall technology plan.
Linda Moore, president of TechNet, an organization that represent chief executive officers in the technology sector, told the
Washington Times that Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, needs to present a technology plan of his own so voters and the industry can compare.