| Anything you've sent to your congressman in the last month is likely still sitting in the mail, along with thousands of other constituent letters and political correspondence.
After Sen. Tom Daschle's office received a letter stuffed with anthrax, all mail delivery, including United Parcel Service and Federal Express packages, was indefinitely halted. Only hand-delivered internal mail - which includes copies of bills and other official documents - still is circulating on Capitol Hill.
It might seem a like a small problem, but it's not.
"It's an administrative nightmare," said U.S. Rep. James Barcia, D-Bay City, whose district includes northern Genesee County. "On an average week, we get between 1,200 and 1,500 letters that require a personal reply."
U.S. Rep. Dale E. Kildee, D-Flint, sometimes receives as many as 500 pieces of mail in a single day, press secretary Peter Karafotas said.
"It is hard to know for sure how much is being held," said Sylvia Warner, press secretary for U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Brighton, whose district includes Flint Township and southern Genesee County.
"We put out 32,000 letters a year in response to constituent inquires. I think you could easily say we're awaiting a thousand letters, conservatively a thousand."
Envelope upon envelope is piling up in a warehouse awaiting treatment by equipment that kills bacteria, including anthrax.
As the holdup drags on constituents have resorted to other means to have their voices heard.
"It is amazing that Congress is continuing to function without mail, without even our offices," Warner said. "We are still hearing from a lot of people. The system did not fail. It hardly even hiccuped."
E-mail usage has seen a huge surge, all local offices reported. Kildee's office received 1,000 e-mails over last weekend alone, Karafotas said. And people have been faxing or picking up the telephone to speak directly with the congressional offices in Washington or Michigan.
The situation has caused some quirky problems. A staff member in Barcia's office had to have time-sensitive information about airline layoffs at Midland-Bay City-Saginaw airport mailed home in order to receive it. Rogers' office is wondering what the FBI thinks of the videotape featuring the congressman that the office has been expecting .
The real problem is, pretty soon, the flood gates could open. Karafotas said the latest word has mail starting back up late next week.
"There is going to be so much," he said, adding that Kildee's office already is planning on dedicating a couple of weekends to opening letters.
Barcia jokingly wondered if the bags of mail would be delivered with forklifts.
"We're expecting a huge backlog of mail to be delivered soon," Barcia said. "We are going to answer it all."
Marjory Raymer covers politics. She can be reached at (810) 766-6325 or mraymer@flintjournal.com. | 
