Hawkeye Reporter

For the second time, Iowa Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks has been fined for not wearing a mask while in the Capitol.

The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Ethics received a notification from the Office of Sergeant at Arms on Nov. 30 that Miller-Meeks was being fined, according to a Jan. 10 release from the committee. The release said that Miller-Meeks did not file an appeal with the committee. A second and subsequent violation of the mask mandate is a fine of $2,500. While the release does not tell when she was fined, the Bleeding Heartland blog showed a video from a speech by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy where Miller-Meeks is in the background not wearing a mask.

Miller-Meeks was also fined $500 in May for not wearing a mask, according to Iowa News Now. She has said that the government should be giving hope to the public, while also pushing for people to be vaccinated. Miller-Meeks said that she is fully vaccinated.

“As members of Congress we should not only encourage constituents to get vaccinated, we should be showing them what a ‘return to normal’ looks like and follow the science,” Miller-Meeks said in May on the House floor.

She has spoken out about it through her Twitter page, like in May when she posted a video of her discussing the mask mandate on Fox News along with a comment. 

“I am going to follow the science. Not Nancy Pelosi!” Miller-Meeks said in the May 22 tweet. 

She also posted a link to stopthefines.com, which transfers to a page that takes donations. “Chip in now to trust science and stop the radical left,” the website said. The contributions benefits Miller-Meeks for Congress but at the bottom of the page it said it was paid for by WinRed and not authorized by a candidate or candidate’s committee. The page also includes the quote that she tweeted.

Most recently Miller-Meeks retweeted a video from Iowa GOP.  In the video, she said she had criticism of President Joe Biden’s work during the pandemic, saying treatment options and acquired immunity should be further investigated.

“The science shows that this vaccine is not 100% effective at preventing infection or transmission, so we must seriously begin working to help Americans with treatment options,” she said in the video.

Miller-Meeks explained that she helped administer vaccines throughout the state of Iowa and, as a doctor, she knows that everyone has unique medical needs and cannot be treated the same.

“I encourage every American to speak with their provider or their doctor to determine whether the vaccine is right for them,” Miller-Meeks said. “It was right for me.”