Cayla Harris reports in the Times Union that New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and Rep. Antonio Delgado, both Democrats, spoke in Hudson Oct. 21 of their wish for a $50 billion federal grant program to help development in rural areas. Delgado, from Rhinebeck, and Gillibrand, from Rensselaer County, spoke at the Hudson Hall in favor of the Rebuild Rural America Act. Under their plan local officials across the country would have to form a council to identify developmental priorities, and then they could apply for a five-year renewable grant. "This bill gives rural communities the funding, flexibility and technical assistance to do what they know will best help their towns," Delgado said. Gillibrand and Delgado said they expect Republicans to also back the measure, but this year in the U.S. House Democrats have passed many bills that the Republican-led Senate have ignored. Read more about this story in the Times Union.