If you are like millions of Americans you have experienced delays in your mail, including drug prescriptions and checks. In some instances, it has taken over a month for a letter to arrive at its destination, and there are still stories of undelivered packages piled up in postal facilities.
Members of the Maryland Congressional delegation recently sent a letter to the Postmaster General complaining of the poor service. They stated in part:
“We write to express our concern and alarm about the dramatic increase in problems with mail delivery that are being experienced by constituents across Maryland. Based on the reports and information we have received; these delays appear to be the result of delayed processing times and staff shortages.
“… Recently, our offices have received a significant increase in complaints from constituents who have gone weeks without receiving mail, similar to the surge of complaints we received last summer in the wake of USPS cuts and policy changes. These delays have had significant harmful impacts on the lives of our constituents. Because of these delays, our constituents have received bills after the dates on which payments were due or their payments were never received, and they have been forced to pay late fees.
“… Many of our constituents have not received urgently-needed packages such as prescription medications. The Department of Veterans Affairs saw a 25% delay in delivery of prescriptions mailed by the U.S. Postal Service in 2020.”
Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.) has urged President Biden to fire the entire USPS Board of Governors. “The continued challenges in preserving our Postal Service to survive and endure are gargantuan, and so demand bold solutions to meet them. To begin that work, we must have a governing body that can be trusted to represent the public interest,” Pascrell wrote.
Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) has also supported Pascrell’s plan to fire the board, citing constituents’ calls about late bills, checks and holiday cards.
However, the Biden administration has not received the idea enthusiastically. Jen Psaki, who is the White House Press Secretary, was asked about the proposal to fire the postal service board and she said it was an “interesting question,” and that “we all love the mailman and mailwoman,” but did not have any further comment.
However, some advisors have said it would be unwise for Biden to clean house. The board currently has four Republican governors, two Democratic governors and three vacancies.
This is obviously an area of concern for many TSCL members who get their prescriptions delivered through the mail as well as though who receive monthly checks by mail. If you have problems with late delivery, we urge you to contact your own Senators and Representative and let them know. Congress needs to put pressure on the postal service to get this problem fixed.
