U.S. Senator Gary Peters continues to fight on behalf of Michiganders everywhere this week, whether it’s calling on Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans to stop playing political games and put Michigan families first in the next round of COVID relief funding or pressing FEMA to open a federal disaster relief fund for schools.
Read below on Gary’s work for Michigan this week:
GARY VOTES IN PRIMARY AND IS HOLDING TRUMP’S POSTMASTER ACCOUNTABLE
After voting in the Michigan primary and reminding voters of the ways they can vote in the upcoming election and the importance of voting, Gary is demanding answers from U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy on reported Postal Service delays.
Reuters: Senate Democrats press Postal Service on delivery complaints
- Four U.S. Senate Democrats on Friday pressed new Postmaster General Louis DeJoy about complaints from Americans about slow delivery since he took office in June and whether service problems could hinder attempts to mail in 2020 election ballots during the pandemic.
- Gary Peters, top Democrat on the committee overseeing the Postal Service, along with Amy Klobuchar, Tom Carper and Charles Schumer sought answers about mail delivery under DeJoy, a top supporter of U.S. President Donald Trump who was also finance chair for the 2020 Republican National Convention.
- “Recent concerns raised by constituents and postal workers have brought to light questionable changes under your leadership now taking place in post offices and processing centers across the nation that may negatively impact mail delivery,” the senators wrote DeJoy who took office in June. “It is essential that the Postal Service not slow down mail or in any way compromise service.”
The Washington Post: Postal Service backlog sparks worries that ballot delivery could be delayed in November
- The U.S. Postal Service is experiencing days-long backlogs of mail across the country after a top Trump donor running the agency put in place new procedures described as cost-cutting efforts, alarming postal workers who warn that the policies could undermine their ability to deliver ballots on time for the November election.
- As President Trump ramps up his unfounded attacks on mail balloting as being susceptible to widespread fraud, postal employees and union officials say the changes implemented by Trump fundraiser-turned-postmaster general Louis DeJoy are contributing to a growing perception that mail delays are the result of a political effort to undermine absentee voting.
GARY CALLS OUT MCCONNELL AND GOP FOR FAILING TO PASS COVID FUNDING
Gary is calling on Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans to stop playing political games and put Michigan families first on the next round of COVID relief funding.
GARY PRESSES FEMA FOR RELIEF FUNDS
As Ranking Member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Gary is pressing FEMA to open a federal disaster relief fund for schools.
MLive: Michigan senator asks FEMA to help school districts buy masks, cover costs related to reopening
- Peters, who serves as the ranking member on a committee that supervises FEMA, sent a letter to Administrator Peter Gaynor Monday urging him to open a federal disaster relief fund for schools. The funding could be used to cover costs related to training, reconfiguring classrooms and providing masks and other personal protective equipment, Peters wrote.
- The senator said it will cost the average school district $1.8 million to reopen safely, citing estimates published by the School Superintendents Association and the Association of School Business Officials International. Those groups found hand sanitizer alone can cost districts $39,500, with costs ranging as high as $448,000 to hire additional custodial staff.
- “Schools across the country currently face an unsustainable situation – drastic increases in costs to implement protective measures against COVID-19, paired with expected reductions in financial support from state and local governments,” Peters said in the letter.
- “We are all in agreement that our students deserve to have access to a safe, quality education this fall, even in the midst of a global pandemic,” Peters wrote. “FEMA has the opportunity and the duty to play a role in supporting our nation’s schools in this effort.”
GARY CRITICIZES TRUMP’S SUGGESTION TO DELAY THE 2020 ELECTION
Gary criticized President Trump for suggesting that the 2020 Election be delayed rather than focusing on the public health and economic crises at hand. Gary was also quick to point out that Trump does not have the power as president to delay an election.
Detroit News: Whitmer slaps Trump’s suggestion to ‘delay’ November election
- U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Township, told a reporter for Sinclair Broadcast Group that Trump can’t delay the election and was trying to direct attention away from what’s happening in the country: a major health and economic crisis.
- “I would hope that the president would be focused on dealing with the crisis at hand instead of tweeting about things that are basically nonsense,” Peters added.
GARY JOINS MICHIGAN MUSLIM COMMUNITY COUNCIL TO SUPPORT HOSPITALS
Gary worked with the Michigan Muslim Community Council to help deliver food for frontline hospital health care workers at Ascension Macomb-Oakland Hospital.
GARY PASSES BILL IN SENATE TO PREDICT AND MITIGATE SPACE WEATHER EVENTS
Gary passed a bipartisan bill through the Senate to predict severe space weather events and mitigate those impacts on our economy and national security.
Bloomberg Government: ENERGY BRIEFING: Solar Energy, Electric Cars In Funding Debate
- Space Weather Bill Passes Senate: The Senate by unanimous consent yesterday passed S. 881, legislation from Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs ranking member Gary Peters (D-Mich.), which would direct arms of the executive branch to improve mitigation of the effects of space weather, which can potentially disable U.S. communications networks and electrical grids for months.
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