Miller-Meeks Signature on Settlement Document

Paul Deaton wrote a story on Blog for Iowa back in April about Marionette Miller Meeks’ involvement in the Branstad administration settlement scandal.  Check out his article for more links to information and additional newspaper coverage of the story.

The following is a recent press release from the Loebsack for Congress campaign.

As head of the Iowa Department of Health, Dr. Miller-Meeks has a slim record of accomplishments. She seems to rely solely on the achievements of Governor Branstad’s economic team, which she had no part of, as a way to try and bolster her record in state government.

The one headline she did make during her tenure as head of the Department of Health was using taxpayer dollars to pay off a former employee in a political hush money scandal.  Dr. Miller-Meeks’ signature appears on the settlement (pages 5-8), which Governor Branstad himself deemed illegal. This settlement gave $20,000 taxpayer dollars to a former employee to keep quiet about her time serving the people of Iowa.

And as of yet, Dr. Miller-Meeks has refused to answer any questions about her involvement in this scandal.

The abuse of taxpayer dollars to cover up happenings in the Department of Health is sickening. Dr. Miller-Meeks needs to be held accountable for her involvement and serious questions need to be raised, such as:

• How did the decision to fire the IDPH employee come about? Was a review conducted? What were the criteria used for the review? Were other positions/persons considered for elimination? If so, which ones?
• After the decision to fire the employee was made, was Dr. Miller-Meeks involved in drafting and negotiating the secret agreement?
• Did Dr. Miller-Meeks blindly follow instructions by Governor Branstad and sign a $20,000 hush money settlement to cover up what appears to be rampant cronyism, or did she act on her own and directly engage in political retribution?
• Will Iowa taxpayers be able to trust Dr. Miller-Meeks to manage Washington’s budget mess when she wasted $20,000 for political payoffs?
• How can Iowans expect Dr. Miller-Meeks to bring change to Washington when the only change she brought to Iowa was inserting New Jersey style politics in state government?

The taxpayers of Iowa deserve answers and they deserve more from their public officials.

###

Jennie Johnson
press@loebsackforcongress.org