By Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


Livingston County’s Congresswoman held a press conference Wednesday highlighting actions by the Trump Administration to undermine the United States Postal Service.

8th District Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin joined US Senator Debbie Stabenow at the event, which was held following a tour of the Lansing processing facility Post Office on Collins Road in Lansing. They were joined by Michigan residents who have been impacted by the disruptions and delays in service. A number of internal changes have been made by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy that include removing mailboxes, slashing overtime for employees, deactivating mail sorting machines and reducing hours of operation. After calls for his resignation and lawsuits being filed, DeJoy announced this week that he would suspend the changes until after the November General Election. That’s not good enough according to lawmakers, who want answers as to how and when the Postal Service will reverse the damage it has already caused by disrupting service and put a permanent end to the hurtful policies.

Slotkin said she’s had an unbelievable number of people calling her office and about 80% of calls are related to delays in mail and packages and people waiting for medication or medical devices. The Holly Democrat stressed many people depend on those things to live and they need to get them on time.

Slotkin said the Postal Service is woven into the fabric of the country and there’s not one person who doesn’t feel some sort of connection to the Post Office, either through their mailbox or knowing the country’s history. She commented further that she’s worried about the long term faith in the Post Office. Slotkin said there were almost 8 million prescriptions sent to Michiganders in 2019 and that includes almost every prescription sent by the Veterans Administration – noting the veteran community is being disproportionately affected by the slowdown. She commented further that every 1 in 6 Postal Service employees is a veteran that chose a different form of service to their country after returning home from overseas.

Slotkin and Stabenow said they’re working to make sure the Postal Service can continue and have been fighting for more funding to address the backlog and ensure on-time delivery of mail in the election. Both expressed they were very encouraged to see the power of the voice of the people are being heard. Meanwhile, Postmaster General DeJoy has agreed to testify and will appear Friday before the Senate Homeland Security & Government Affairs Committee.