Hagan praises Obama plan, criticizes Romney

North Carolina Sen. Kay Hagan plugged the president's economic speech Friday, saying his proposals “are key to an economy built to last.''

Hagan, a Democrat, said Obama's economic proposal has the government  investing in education, research, student loans and other programs that will position the country to compete globally in a knowledge economy.

“We have got to invest in our best scientists, our best researchers, our best entrepreneurs, so they are the ones that can innovate right here in America,” Hagan said in a teleconference arranged by the re-election campaign of President Barack Obama. She appeared with Brent Colburn, the Obama campaign's communications director.

She said the country needs to build infrastructure such as roads and bridges that can create jobs now.

She said Republican candidate Mitt Romney's emphasis on tax cuts was a return to the policies of President George W. Bush.

“We can't give billionaires another tax break at the expense of the middle class,” Hagan said. “But that is how Mitt Romney would hold us back. We can't afford to give the policies of the past decade another try. It would push us back to another recession instead of pushing us toward a recovery.''

“What Mitt Romney is selling didn't work then and it's not going to work now,” Hagan said.

Republican Sen. Richard Burr is appearing later today with Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio in Winston-Salem. We will have a report on that later.