Senator Heitkamp is leading the fight to improve and protect mail delivery and service so that everyone in North Dakota – whether they live in a rural area, small town, or a city – can count on a reliable U.S. Postal Service.  Senator Heitkamp has made fighting for rural America one of her top priorities in the U.S. Senate, and she understands the importance of efficient mail delivery and service in helping rural communities, families, and businesses thrive.  

Fix My Mail

In 2014, Heitkamp launched her launched my Fix My Mail initiative, a grassroots effort to help North Dakotans have their voices heard about problems with delayed mail delivery and service. More than 200 North Dakotans shared their stories about problems with extensive mail delivery times or other problems with their postal service. Senator Heitkamp also added a Fix My Mail survey to get details from North Dakotans about their problems with mail delivery and service, and nearly 500 North Dakotans filled it out. These stories and feedback have helped shape Senator Heitkamp’s efforts to call for changes to mail delivery in North Dakota and rural communities.

As a result of that feedback from North Dakotans, Senator Heitkamp brought the Postmaster General to North Dakota in August 2016 to see the state’s mail challenges up close and to discuss solutions for the unacceptable service issues facing the state.

If you’re having trouble with mail delivery or performance, Senator Heitkamp wants to hear from you. Please complete the survey and submit your story to join the hundreds of North Dakotans who have already participated. The details you share and personal information will be kept secure and confidential.
You can also go on Facebook or Twitter and use #FixMyMail to
tell your story. And please encourage others you know who have faced problems with their mail delivery and standards to share their concerns.

Taking action to protect rural delivery

Based on what she heard from her Fix My Mail initiative, Senator Heitkmap has made sure Congress and the U.S. Postal Service don’t leave rural mail concerns behind. In July 2015, Senator Heitkamp introduced a bill to address these concerns and improve rural mail service and delivery, increase protections for rural post offices, and make sure postal employees are treated fairly in North Dakota and across the country. The Rural Postal Act was a direct outcome of Fix My Mail.

Senator Heitkamp brought together the first bipartisan meeting of solely rural-state U.S. senators in 2015 to meet with U.S. Postmaster General Megan Brennan about the impacts of mail processing facility closures and service standard reductions, and secured a commitment from the Postal Service to work better to meet the needs of rural America.

Pressing the U.S. Postal Service

Senator Heitkamp has consistently used the information she has learned from her Fix My Mail initiative and other outreach to North Dakotans to get the U.S. Postal Service to make critical service improvements. After sharing North Dakotans’ frustrations with the U.S. Postal Service from her Fix My Mail project, Senator Heitkamp successfully received commitments from the agency to improve mail service and delivery throughout the state, including keeping more hours of operation at 30 rural post offices in North Dakota.