Rep. Mike Simpson visits Pocatello

Rep. Mike Simpson (R-ID 2nd District) visited Pocatello Thursday, where his first stop was to meet with Bannock County commissioners about current issues.

County commissioners and Simpson talked about the rise in the number of inmates and jail overcrowding in the county.

Commissioners also asked Simpson if Ted Cruz was elected, and shut down the Department of Energy, what would that mean for the Idaho National Lab and the region?

Simpson said he doesn’t see that happening. He believes even if Cruz gets elected, he won’t shut down the department. Simpson thinks Cruz would realize he can’t close down all those important national research labs, which would happen if the Department of Energy shut down.

The biggest complaint commissioners had was the recent closure of the mail processing facility in Pocatello. Their concerns were not only the slow mail, but that important mail is not getting delivered in a timely manner. They worry about people awaiting important medical or legal documents that are slow in coming.

Simpson said it’s something he’s currently working on with the U.S. Postal Service. He said he doesn’t think the postal service realizes just how slow the mail has become, or the effects its had on the county since moving to Salt Lake City.

“They said originally that wouldn’t happen,” said Simpson. “That you wouldn’t notice a difference in the speed or delivery of mail or anything else like that. But that’s been a real problem. It’s been a problem here, as the commissioners pointed out, that with mail ballots and mail-in election ballots that have to be here, are they going to get here in time to be counted?”

Simpson said the mail issue is one he’s going to keep working to resolve.

While in town, Simpson also visited Idaho State University’s campus and looked at some of their latest programs.