Iowa officials dispute Kim Weaver's claim that budget cut was 'punishment' for her candidacy

When she announced her withdrawal from Iowa’s 4th District congressional race Saturday, Democrat Kim Weaver made a stunning allegation: that lawmakers cut funding for the state office where she works in retribution for her candidacy.

State officials on Monday sharply disputed that assertion, claiming that while lawmakers questioned Weaver's ability to juggle a congressional campaign with her professional duties, they did not use the state budget as a weapon against her.

In an interview with The Des Moines Register, Weaver alleged that her supervisor in the state’s Long-Term Care Ombudsman's Office had told her that lawmakers explicitly linked her candidacy with the decision to reduce the office’s budget by $164,000, or about 12 percent.

“She flat-out told me that she was told by a legislator … that the budget cut was a punishment for me running for office again,” Weaver said Saturday.

Read more: http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/2017/06/06/kim-weaver-steve-king-iowa-budget-cut-punishment/371735001/