Progressive lawmakers—several of whom are eyeing 2020 presidential bids—are increasingly embracing sweeping guaranteed jobs proposals. But many of their Democratic colleagues remain hesitant to offer a full-throated endorsement of the concept.
The Washington Post reported Monday that Vermont Democratic-Socialist Bernie Sanders will introduce a plan for the federal government to provide a job to all Americans who want or need one. Government works jobs under his plan would include health benefits and a minimum wage of $15 an hour. Questions of how to pay for such a plan remain unanswered.
“I’m intrigued by the notion,” Virginia Democrat Tim Kaine told THE WEEKLY STANDARD when asked about Sanders’s plan on Monday night.
But he declined to offer a concrete endorsement. “I haven’t dug into [guaranteed jobs plans] yet, just in terms of the committees I’m on, you know you do have to prioritize your time here,” said Kaine. “I’m on some pretty challenging committees more focused on health care issues. In terms of domestic policy right now that’s the one that’s really dominating my time.”
Still, he argued that putting big ideas on the table is good for the Democratic party. “I do think that,” said Kaine.
Other Senate Democrats said they were unfamiliar with Sanders’s plan, keeping mum on the effort. “I’m sorry,” Ohio senator Sherrod Brown told TWS on his way to vote Monday night. “I’ve got to go,” he said, climbing into an elevator. And Hawaii Democrat Brian Schatz said he had noticed the headline but hadn’t read the details of the plan yet.
“I just don’t want to opine on something I haven’t studied,” said Schatz.
The news of Sanders’s proposal followed New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand’s call last week for a similar concept. “If Republicans could give $1.5 trillion in tax cuts to corporations and the wealthiest among us, why can’t we invest a similar amount in a guaranteed jobs plan for regular Americans who are unemployed and willing to work to better their local community?” she tweeted.
And just days later came New Jersey Democrat Cory Booker’s announcement of his Federal Jobs Guarantee Development Act, which would authorize a three-year test of federal job guarantee programs in 15 localities. Booker’s bill would similarly offer jobs paying a minimum of $15 an hour and health benefits, according to Vox, which first reported the details of the legislation. How Booker’s bill would be financed is also unclear.
Ron Wyden, the top Democrat on the Finance Committee, expressed openness to the guaranteed jobs proposals. He pointed to last year’s Republican tax cuts, which primarily slashed rates for corporations, as a failure to prioritize the middle class. “Certainly what Senator Sanders has been talking about for quite some time is trying to build growth and economic progress and giving everybody a chance to get ahead and focusing on the middle class,” said Wyden.
“I’ll have to hear what he says,” he added.
