Ashley Hinson Voted Against Lowering Insulin Prices… Because Of The Green New Deal?

Rep. Ashley Hinson voted against caps for seniors’ insulin prices, lower health care prices, and policies to keep companies from cheating on their taxes.

The Republican representative spoke briefly on the floor of the House of Representatives during debate for the Inflation Reduction Act, which passed on Friday, Aug. 7, without any support from Republicans. President Joe Biden will sign the bill Tuesday.

Among many things, the bill caps insulin prices for Medicare recipients at $35 and caps their drug costs at $2,000 a year. Medicare will also be able to negotiate drug prices with pharmaceutical companies starting in 2026, and companies won’t be able to raise their prices faster than Medicare’s inflation rate without paying penalties.

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Hinson voted “no” and said the bill was a waste of taxpayer money when she spoke on the floor.

“Now, Speaker Pelosi is arguing for yet another tax-and-spending spree, wasting hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars on Green New Deal priorities, and raising taxes on middle-class families. This will worsen inflation,” she said.

The Green New Deal part refers to historic investments designed to boost America’s infrastructure and industries so the country can become a leader in developing renewable energy technology and in that energy production, while making renewable energy cheaper and more sustainable for regular Americans in their day-to-day lives.

Among those policies are a lot of tax incentives—tax breaks—for families to make the switch to cleaner energy sources and away from fossil fuels. There are also multiple requirements for domestic production, which will lead to job growth, and less reliance on foreign energy resources.

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The Inflation Reduction Act does not raise taxes on middle-class families, either, despite what Hinson said.

Tax increases are going toward corporations, their incomes, and their stock buybacks. Analysts have said the tax on corporations would open a new avenue of money for the government and projections done by Congress estimate the tax on stock buybacks will raise $74 billion in the next 10 years.

Similarly, increasing the funding for IRS won’t target everyday people, but give the long-underfunded agency the resources to deal with the backlog and crack down on the ultra-wealthy who frequently avoid paying taxes.

“Ashley Hinson is trying to spin a vote against measures to bring down inflation and reduce costs for Iowa families. Here’s why: she’d rather protect her big corporate donors than deliver on her promises to Iowans to achieve energy independence, support Iowa’s biofuel industry, lower prescription drug costs and reduce the national debt,” said State Sen. Liz Mathis, who is running against Hinson, in a statement.

“Once again, when Ashley Hinson is in Iowa, she says one thing, but when she is in Washington, she votes against what Iowans need,” Mathis continued.

Nikoel Hytrek
08/16/22

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