Patty Judge
Democrat Patty Judge is accusing her Republican opponent, Chuck Grassley, of engaging in more “gridlock” over federal funding to combat the spread of the Zika virus.
“Last night, he again played a shameful partisan game,” Judge told reporters earlier this afternoon during a telephone news conference.
Grassley and other Republican senators blocked Democrats’ proposal on the subject. Democrats, in turn, blocked the Republicans’ approach because they say it “defunded” Planned Parenthood.
“As a former nurse, I find it beyond irresponsible that Grassley would tie emergency funding to combat this virus with a partisan attempt to reduce health care for women,” Judge said.
Judge called the Zika virus a “crisis.” According to Judge, it’s been nearly 200 days since President Obama asked congress to provide emergency funding for the Centers for Disease Control.
“This is the kind of behavior that Iowans are sick and tired of and Iowans aren’t forgetting that Chuck Grassley is no longer doing his job,” Judge said.
Grassley issued a written statement last night, saying it seems “Democrats want a political issue, not a solution” to this debate. Grassley has been pressing Obama Administration officials to redirect “billions of dollars” from other programs to the Zika response. Grassley accused Democrats of seeking the kind of “blank check” that Republicans in congress aren’t willing to write.