Pete Buttigieg in Democratic candidates debate in Detroit Michigan, July 30-31, 2019
On Civil Rights:
Systemic racism has touched every part of American life
Systemic racism has touched every part of American life, from health to homeownership. If you walk into an emergency room and you are black, your reports of pain will be taken less seriously. If you apply for a job and you are black, you are less likely
to be called just because of the name on the resume. It's why I've proposed that we do everything from investing in historically red-lined neighborhoods to build black wealth in homeownership to supporting entrepreneurship for black Americans.
Source: July Democratic Primary debate (first night in Detroit)
Jul 30, 2019
On Education:
Public-service loan forgiveness program
Q: You've talked about how you and your husband are paying down six figures of student loan debt. Under Senator Sanders' proposal to cancel all student loan debt, yours would immediately be wiped away. Why wouldn't you support that?
BUTTIGIEG: That would be great for us. The next day, people would be out taking student loans wondering why they weren't lucky enough to get theirs wiped away completely, too.
We can have debt-free college for low and middle-income students by expanding Pell Grants and compelling states to pick up more of the burden.
For those who have a lot of debt, we can expand a public service loan forgiveness program, which is an excellent program that is almost impossible to actually get access to right now.
Source: July Democratic Primary debate (first night in Detroit)
Jul 30, 2019
On Energy & Oil:
We have 12 years until climate catastrophe
Science tells us we have 12 years before we reach the horizon of catastrophe when it comes to our climate. By 2030, the average house in this country will cost half a million bucks and a women's right to choose may not even exist. We are not going
to be able to meet this moment by recycling the same arguments, policies, and politicians that have dominated Washington for as long as I have been alive. We've got to summon the courage to walk away from the past and do something different.
Source: July Democratic Primary debate (first night in Detroit)
Jul 30, 2019
On Government Reform:
We need structural reform; we can reform our democracy
When I propose actual structural democratic reforms that might make a difference--end the Electoral College, clear up Citizens United, have D.C. actually be a state, depoliticize the Supreme Court--people look at me funny.
Does anybody really think we're going to overtake Citizens United without constitutional action? This is a country that once changed its Constitution so you couldn't drink and then changed it back because we changed our minds about that.
Source: July Democratic Primary debate (first night in Detroit)
Jul 30, 2019
On Gun Control:
What we're doing on gun violence isn't working
What we're doing hasn't worked because we haven't had a system in Washington capable of delivering what the American people want. 80, 90% of Republicans want universal background checks, not to mention common sense solutions like red flag laws that
disarmed domestic abusers and flag mental health risks, and an end to assault weapons, things like what I carried overseas in uniform, that have no business in American neighbors in peace time, let alone anywhere near a school.
This is the exact same conversation we've been having since I was in high school. I was a junior when the Columbine shooting happened. I was part of the first generation that saw routine school shootings. We have now
produced the second school shooting generation in this country. We better not allow there to be a third. We all know the right thing to do. They won't prevent every incident. They won't save every life. But we know what to do, and it has not happened.
Source: July Democratic Primary debate (first night in Detroit)
Jul 30, 2019
On Health Care:
Pay more in taxes but less in healthcare premium
Q: Are you willing to raise taxes on middle-class Americans in order to have universal coverage?BUTTIGIEG: I think you can buy into it. That's the idea of Medicare for All Who Want It. Look, this is a distinction without a difference, whether
you're paying the same money in the form of taxes or premiums. In this country, if you don't have health coverage, you're paying too much for care, and if you do have health coverage, you're paying too much for care.
Source: July Democratic Primary debate (first night in Detroit)
Jul 30, 2019
On Health Care:
My mother-in-law's life was saved by the ACA
It is time to stop worrying about what the Republicans will say. If we embrace a far-left agenda they're going to say we're a bunch of crazy socialists. If we embrace a conservative agenda, they're going to say we're a bunch of crazy socialists.
So let's just stand up for the right policy. I think it's the right answer for people like my mother-in-law whose life was saved by the ACA, but who is still far too vulnerable to the fact that the insurance industry does not care about her.
Source: July Democratic Primary debate (first night in Detroit)
Jul 30, 2019
On Immigration:
Crossing the border illegally should still be illegal
Q: You're in favor of getting rid of the law that makes it a crime to come across the border illegally. Why won't that just encourage more illegal immigration?BUTTIGIEG: When I am president, illegally crossing the border will still be illegal. We
can argue over the finer points of which parts of this ought to be handled by civil law and which parts ought to be handled by criminal law. But we've got a crisis on our hands. Americans want comprehensive immigration reform. We've been talking about
the same framework for my entire adult lifetime, protections for DREAMers; making sure that we have a pathway to citizenship for the undocumented; cleaning up lawful immigration. We know what to do. The problem is we haven't had the will to get it done
in Washington.
Q: But didn't you raise your hand in the last debate, to decriminalize crossing the border illegally?
BUTTIGIEG: If fraud is involved, then that's suitable for the criminal statute. If not, then it should be handled under civil law.
Source: July Democratic Primary debate (first night in Detroit)
Jul 30, 2019
On Jobs:
Let gig workers unionize
Q: What is your plan for retraining workers whose jobs are at risk?Buttigieg: Of course we need to do retraining. But this is so much bigger than a trade fight. This is about a moment when the economy is changing before our eyes.
There are people in the gig economy who go through more jobs in a week than my parents went through in their lifetime. It's why I've proposed that we allow gig workers to unionize, because a gig is a job and a worker is a worker.
Source: July Democratic Primary debate (first night in Detroit)
Jul 30, 2019
On Jobs:
Raise minimum wage, like Scripture tells us
In addition to confronting tech, in addition to supporting workers by double unionization, as I propose to do, some of this is low-tech, too, like the minimum wage is just too low. And so-called conservative
Christian senators right now in the Senate are blocking a bill to raise the minimum wage, when scripture says that whoever oppresses the poor taunts their maker.
Source: July Democratic Primary debate (first night in Detroit)
Jul 30, 2019
Page last updated: Sep 08, 2019