Mike Franken. (RI file photo)
Mike Franken, the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, says Republican Senator Chuck Grassley is engaging in “double-speak” when explaining his “no” vote on capping insulin prices. Last night, Grassley tweeted that his vote was “not about insulin,” but about Democrats “ignoring budget rules” in the U.S. Senate.
“The short of it is: Did you vote for it or did you not vote for it? You didn’t vote for it so just admit it,” Franken said. “…There’s 240,000 Iowans that this affects.”
Grassley said the senate should pass a bipartisan package that would include a limit on insulin prices. This weekend’s Senate vote to cap insulin prices at $35 a month failed, as it needed at least 10 Republican senators to pass. Franken tweeted that Grassley “played politics” when he had the chance to cap the sky high prices Americans are paying for insulin.
During a Radio Iowa interview Monday evening, Franken said, as if speaking directly to Grassley: “Why did you vote no? You voted no because that’s what Mitch McConnell wanted you to do,”
During this weekend’s Senate debate on the package of health and energy proposals, Grassley criticized the bill’s tax credit for electric vehicle purchases. Franken said he hears from voters who want to buy electric vehicles — and have access to charging stations.
“We talk about the mayoral race in New York City of 100 years ago when the biggest issue was the removal of horse manure and four years later it was pedestrians getting hit by cars,” Franken said of his conversations on the campaign trail. “We talk about when smart phones came into existence in 2007 and everybody has one today.”
Franken said technology is shifting to electric vehicles — and Iowa is in a “good position” to benefit as more electric vehicles take to the road because of the state’s power generating capacity.