Metro East Sun

Rep. Mike Bost, who represents Illinois’ 12th district in the U.S. Congress, announced legislative and funding initiatives on July 23, 2025, through a series of posts on his official Twitter account.

In his first post of the day, Bost addressed concerns about rural postal service interruptions: "Today I reintroduced the Upending Secret Postal Shutdowns (USPS) Act to bring transparency and accountability for sudden post office closures. Rural communities, in particular, are often left in the dark when a local post office is 'temporarily' shut down, with no timeline or" (July 23, 2025). The message highlights ongoing issues faced by rural areas regarding unannounced or prolonged postal facility closures.

Later that evening, Bost shared news about federal investment in veterans’ healthcare infrastructure: "Happy to announce today that the Department of Veterans Affairs will fund an additional $800 million in infrastructure upgrades this year, including improvements to the Marion VA Medical Center and the John Cochran and Jefferson Barracks facilities in St. Louis. Southern Illinois" (July 23, 2025). He followed this announcement with a link-only tweet: "https://t.co/wbfZw1feAR" (July 23, 2025).

Mike Bost has served as a member of Congress since 2015 after replacing Gerald Hawkins. Before joining Congress, he was part of the Illinois House of Representatives from 1995 to 2015 and served on the Jackson County Board between 1984 and 1988. Born in Murphysboro in 1960 and currently residing there at age 62, Bost also completed firefighter training at the University of Illinois' Certified Firefighter II Academy in 1993.