Instead of Lowering Healthcare Costs, Miller-Meeks Fundraises During the GOP Shutdown

Federal workers miss paychecks, SNAP benefits set to expire, insurance premiums spike — while Miller-Meeks hosts donors at her annual tailgate.

As federal workers across Iowa went unpaid Friday — and as more than 267,000 Iowans face the abrupt cutoff of SNAP benefits Saturday, Nov. 1 — Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks was hosting a high-dollar fundraiser at her annual congressional tailgate. Tickets to the event cost up to $7,000 per person.

Instead of showing up for Iowans, Miller-Meeks has shown up for donors while her constituents face real, immediate hardship. She has spent the past six weeks in recess while the federal government remains shuttered, while refusing to lower healthcare costs — a move that could end the government shutdown and immediately ease the pressure on families and small businesses across her district. She’s even referred to lowering healthcare costs as a ‘bailout’ and an ‘unreasonable demand’.  In this time she hasn’t held a single public in-person town hall, refusing to face her constituents. 

Holly Moore, from Fairfield, says that her representative has made it clear who she is working for, and it’s not everyday Iowans. 

"Miller-Meeks constantly makes herself scarce when it comes to fully representing all her constituents,” Moore said. “Her district is falling victim to her callous votes to enrich the one percent at the expense of ordinary Iowans. Miller-Meeks' willingness to hold closed-door fundraising events while refusing to hold town halls with her constituents until 'hell freezes over' shows she really doesn't care about listening to and helping out Iowans, especially at a time when many of us face a brutal winter ahead with less food and medical care, thanks to her votes to cut food assistance and Medicaid."