{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://bishop.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/congressman-bishop-and-congressman-austin-scott-tell-postmaster-general-to-protect-mail-service-for-middle-georgia-and-rural-communities", "CONGRESSMAN BISHOP AND CONGRESSMAN AUSTIN SCOTT TELL POSTMASTER GENERAL TO PROTECT MAIL SERVICE FOR MIDDLE GEORGIA AND RURAL COMMUNITIES", "2023-08-24", "2023", "2023-08", "Democrat", "House", "GA", "Sanford D. Bishop, Jr.", "B000490", "bishop.house.gov", "bishop", "https://bishop.house.gov/media-center/press-releases", "scraper", "MACON, Ga. \u2013 Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (D-GA-02) and Congressman Austin Scott (R-GA-08) sent a letter to U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy and the U.S. Postal Service\u2019s Board of Governors regarding the proposed changes to the Macon Processing and Distribution facility (Macon P&DC) in Macon, Georgia. The letter urges the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to keep the Macon P&DC open, and not scale it down, so that it can continue to process local mail and deliver both letters and packages to Middle Georgians on-time.\n\n\u201cThe U.S. Postal Service should strive to provide the best possible service to every family and business in America, even those whose addresses are located in remote areas and rural communities,\u201d said Congressman Bishop. \u201cAny proposed changes to postal operations in Middle Georgia should take into account the unique challenges faced by rural Americans, especially our seniors who often rely on USPS for the delivery of bills, checks, and prescription drugs.\u201d\n\n\u201cRural Georgians deserve to get their mail and packages in a timely manner. I\u2019m working with Rep. Bishop to ensure that rural Georgians are not left behind as USPS makes changes to their processing and distribution centers,\u201d said Congressman Austin Scott.\n\nThe bipartisan letter also asks USPS to consider the potential loss of postal jobs and possible delivery delays of mail, so that the people of Georgia fully understand the consequences of any proposed changes.\n\nIn March of 2021, USPS published its \u201cDelivering for America\u201d plan to modernize the Postal Service and save costs. In July 2023, USPS announced a Mail Processing Facility Review (MPFR) of the Macon P&DC to determine if it would be possible to move some operations from the Macon facility to the new Atlanta Regional Processing and Distribution Center (RPDC).\n\nAs a result of the review, it has been proposed to change Macon\u2019s P&DC into a Local Processing Center (LPC), which processes only letters and flat mail and is not expected to process packages originating from Middle Georgia.\n\nFollowing the closings of the Columbus, Albany, and Valdosta Customer Service Mail Processing Centers (CSMPCs) in 2012, Middle and Southwest Georgia lost jobs and faced mail delivery delays as local mail is now processed through more distant facilities in metro Atlanta, Montgomery, Jacksonville, and Tallahassee.\n\nCongressman Bishop and Congressman Scott are concerned that the loss or scaling down of the Macon P&DC could make the situation worse and harm rural communities that rely on the Post Office the most.\n\nYou can view a copy of the letter on Congressman Bishop\u2019s website.\n\nMore information about USPS\u2019s \u201cDelivering for America\u201d plan can be found here: https://about.usps.com/what/strategic-plans/delivering-for-america/", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T00:30:18Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://bishop.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/congressman-bishop-and-congressman-austin-scott-tell-postmaster-general-to-protect-mail-service-for-middle-georgia-and-rural-communities"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.401187153533101, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}