WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Gary Peters (D-MI), ranking member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, released the following statement Friday after the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) announced the Iron Mountain Processing and Distribution Center will continue its local mail processing operations. The announcement comes after Senator Peters repeatedly pushed back on proposed consolidation of the USPS delivery network, including for the Iron Mountain facility, that would have significantly impacted mail service for Upper Peninsula residents:

“Postmaster General DeJoy informed me today that the United States Postal Service’s Iron Mountain Processing and Distribution Center will remain fully operational into the future, continuing to provide robust mail processing service for communities across the Upper Peninsula. This is great news for rural Michiganders who depend on USPS for delivery of essential items including financial documents, lab tests, prescriptions for veterans, and more, that are critical to the health and safety of residents.

“I was proud to push back against changes previously proposed by USPS at its Iron Mountain facility and highlighted the importance of mail service in our rural communities to USPS leadership. Today’s announcement means that UP residents can continue to depend on USPS for reliable service.”

“For 250 years, the Postal Service has been required to provide delivery service to every United States address. I’ll continue working to ensure every American in every community can count on USPS to deliver for years to come.”

Peters has previously led efforts to protect mail service for Upper Peninsula communities, especially following the USPS proposal to consolidate mail service, which would have moved some mail processing services out of Iron Mountain to larger facilities in Wisconsin. Last May, Peters secured a pause on proposed changes at the Iron Mountain Mail Processing and Distribution Center until USPS leadership could ensure the changes would not impact local mail service. The pause was announced after Peters convened a hearing with key USPS officials to examine proposed changes to its delivery network. Prior to the hearing, Peters wrote a letter to Postmaster General DeJoy in February 2024 requesting further details into changes at the Iron Mountain Processing Center.

In 2022, Peters authored and led passage of a historic, bipartisan law to set the Postal Service on a more sustainable financial footing and support the goal of providing long-term reliable service across the country. The law made the first major reforms to the Postal Service in more than 15 years, including requiring six-day delivery.