Sanders: 'Damn Right We Will' Have a Job for Every American

By John Bowden, The Hill

17 October 19

en. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) defended his calls for a universal jobs guarantee during Tuesday's Democratic primary debate, telling viewers that a Green New Deal he has advocated would create millions of jobs for Americans looking for work.

Questioned whether he was sure that the federal government could adequately provide jobs for all adults in the workforce, Sanders replied, "Damn right we will."

“Damn right, we will," Sanders responded. "A Green New Deal that I have advocated for, will create 20 million new jobs as we move from fossil fuels to sustainability.”

Sanders is one of several contenders in the 2020 primary field who have endorsed a framework unveiled by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), dubbed the Green New Deal.

Green New Deal intends to rapidly shift America's energy grid to sustainable forms of energy, while simultaneously upgrading U.S. infrastructure and implementing energy-efficient improvements to the U.S. transportation grid.

The plan, announced earlier this year, also included a federal jobs guarantee, which has drawn fire from Sanders's fellow 2020 contender Andrew Yang, a supporter of a universal basic income (UBI).

Yang criticized Sanders's plan again Tuesday night, claiming that it did not take into account people like his wife, a stay-at-home mother who tends to the couple's sons, one of whom is autistic.