Miller-Meeks makes her rounds in Muscatine

MUSCATINE, Iowa – Congressional hopeful Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Ottumwa received a good word from congressman John Kline at a Saturday morning campaign stop in Muscatine.

Kline, a Republican member of the U.S. House, joined Miller-Meeks at Muscatine’s Riverside Restaurant for a breakfast meeting with approximately 30 people.

Kline said he supports Miller-Meeks in her race for the second district as part of his personal effort to promote Republicans candidates for the House and Senate.

Kline called President Barack Obama and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s agenda a “job killer” and said getting Pelosi out will bring more Republicans into the U.S. House and Senate.

“We need people dedicated to creating policies that will get Iowa back to work,” said Kline, who has represented Minnesota’s second district since January 2003. He is also the ranking member of the Education and Labor Committee and serves on the Armed Services Committee.

Miller-Meeks said Iowa’s small business have the potential to create more jobs for Iowans, and she would be an advocate for the people who run them.

“We need to have a tax policy in place that let’s people know small businesses can take a risk and be rewarded for that,” said Miller-Meeks.

Miller-Meeks said the Federal Health Care Bill requires corporations and business owners to file separate forms for the Internal Revenue Service for each contractor who is paid $600 or more a year. This provision, which is slated to begin in 2012, creates a disadvantage for small businesses, said Miller-Meeks, if large companies begin using fewer vendors to minimize paper work.

Miller-Meeks said the Federal Cap and Trade bill that has passed through the House and is on its way to the Senate poses another economic threat for the state.

The bill is designed to minimize the nation’s dependence on oil, said Miller-Meeks, but it asks too much of Americans as they work toward that goal.

Penalties on coal-fired power plants will impact individual homeowners with electric bills that average $1,200-$2,300 more per year, said Miller-Meeks.

She is also concerned that Cap and Trade regulations could also cost more than 30,000 jobs in Iowa if the state puts all its resources into alternative energies and stops using coal, which is less expensive.

“We can’t afford to penalize Iowans,” said Miller-Meeks.

Marilyn Wedel, Muscatine County chairwoman of the Miller-Meeks for Congress campaign, said the candidate has garnered some recent successes.

Last month, a poll by the national Republican strategic research and polling firm, the Tarrance Group, showed a one point difference between Miller-Meeks and her opponent, Democratic incumbent Dave Loebsack of Mount Vernon.

On Oct. 2, the National Republican Congressional Committee announced Miller-Meeks has achieved “Young Gun” status, which is the top tier of its Young Guns program, said Wedel.

That ranking means Miller-Meeks has proven her ability to build a winning campaign and achieve substantial fundraising goals, said Wedel.

The “Young Guns” program has become the official National Republican Congressional Committee’s effort to elect candidates nationwide.

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