Miller-Meeks addresses drug costs, education

     U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks was in Jones County on Feb. 14 to meet with constituents in her new district, District 1.

   Miller-Meeks’ listening post was held at the Lawrence Community Center.

   Roughly 15 people attended the event and were able to openly ask the Congresswoman questions. Topics ranged from healthcare and the cost of prescription drugs to the IRS and taxes, Social Security, and education.

   “This is a new county for me,” Miller-Meeks said of her first visit to Jones County since she was elected to office in November. “It’s been a very busy time the past couple of weeks in Washington, D.C. Currently, there are investigations going on; there are bills going on.”

     She shared the various committees and subcommittees she’s been assign to: Veterans Affairs; the Coronavirus Taskforce; Energy & Commerce; and Environment, Manufacturing & Critical Minerals.

     “On the Coronavirus Taskforce, we’ve had our organizing meeting, but we’ve not yet had a hearing,” noted Miller-Meeks. “As a physician and former public health director, there are a lot of questions about how both administrations conducted themselves through the pandemic, but most importantly, having been in the military, we do after-action reports. You look at the things you did, what you did well, what you did poorly and you prepare yourself for the next time. This will not be the last pandemic that our country will face.”

     A few people asked the Congresswoman about the costs of prescription drugs right now in the U.S. One woman wanted to know if anything could be done to reduce those costs “as it applies to children and the elderly in the Medicare system? Understand that these are people who probably have a limited pool of money.”

     Miller-Meeks admitted that was a complex question to answer.

     She has submitted a biosimilar bill targeted toward getting a generic form of insulin out to those who need it.

     “Medications that are generically equivalent, they’re biosimilars, but they’re not treated as generic medications,” she explained. “So they’re not expensed as generic medications. It’s making those chemically equivalent medications available as generic and allowing a pharmacist to be able to dispense them as such, which would reduce the cost.”

     However, Miller-Meeks said the government has to balance to cost of prescription drugs and medications with “robust research and development.

     “All countries want that,” she said. “Why? There is a necessity to have a profit that goes back to the company that goes toward research and development.”

     She said it’s a balance of tackling lower drug costs and still maintaining the needed research.

     “We haven’t had a hearing yet on prescription drug costs and how to lower that. But it’s a balance here in the U.S. to have both a robust pharmaceutical industry that’s able to develop and create new drugs, but also what are the things we can do to bring down the cost.”

     Linda Stickle of Anamosa wanted to know what could be done about people imprisoned over the last two following the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection on the U.S. Capitol.

     “I have a letter here that some patriots in Jones County put together, trying to figure out how and who at the federal level can help these people who have been sitting in prison for 2 years without due process, which is unconstitutional,” expressed Stickle. “I’m very disappointed. These people have been denied their constitutional rights. Nobody seems to want to talk about this. It’s very very sad.”

     Miller-Meeks explained that people who are charged with a federal crime are not granted bail.

   “Violations of federal law are not the same as violations of a state law,” she said. “When we investigated this and looked into this, there is no bail in the federal system.

     “These people are in the queue, if you will, for trials. There are individuals who are imprisoned who also had previous felonies so that changes how soon they are out of the system. I think that there is much more to that than people understand or are willing to understand. You have to look at these individuals one by one to see if they’ve committed other crimes.”

     Stickle also expressed her opposition to Miller-Meeks’ support of the Respect for Marriage Act. She brought a copy of the Iowa Republication platforms to remind Miller-Meeks of where the party stands on that particular topic.

     Another woman with the Jones County Republican Party thanked Miller-Meeks for supporting the Respect for Marriage Act.

     “We’re very proud of what you’re doing for us here in Iowa,” she said. “I am a part of the Jones County Republicans. I do support your vote on the marriage law. There are a lot of Jones County Republicans who do support the path that you took and we appreciate that. Nobody should be taken away from the table, to have the security of a spouse, whether a same-sex marriage or a traditional marriage.”

     Mary Melchert of Monticello asked for Miller-Meeks’ take on education, both at the state and federal levels.

     “I’m wondering if what they’ve been able to accomplish in Des Moines so far is aligning with what you’re hearing in D.C. that we should be striving for?” asked Melchert.

     Miller-Meeks said the CDC just recently released a study about the increase in suicide rates and mental health problems following the COVID-19 pandemic.

   “This is not anything new to anybody in this room,” she said of the results of the study.

     In 2021, Miller-Meeks proposed an amendment to a bill to allocate $2 billion of CARES Act money toward mental health for K-12 and college undergraduates.

   “Why was that? Because COVID isn’t life versus the economy; that’s what we heard all the time. COVID is life versus life,” she said.

     She expressed her concerns in the early part of the pandemic with closing schools, closing hospitals, and masking young children. She said the pandemic led to increased suicides among young people, increased drug use, and delays in education among young students.

     “All of that has come to fruition,” she said.

     However, she feels teachers should have the flexibility to cater to the needs of their students as induvial and to meet the individual needs of their students.

     “We have too much micromanaging at the federal Department of Education and perhaps even at the state level,” she continued.

     Miller-Meeks added that it’s also important for parents to be involved in their children’s education.

   “For parents to attend school board meetings, to be interested in what goes on in the educational system is critically important.

     “It’s rare that you have your federal delegation and what’s happening at the state level to be moving on the same track,” she said. “From my standpoint, I support what Governor Reynolds is doing. I also support public schools and school teachers. Public schools, private schools, voucher schools, charter schools, homeschools, all of us need to be accountable because the goal is to educate students.”