“Postal Service Responds to Norton Letter on Undelivered and Delayed Mail in D.C.”

From the office of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton:

“Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) released the response she received from the United States Postal Service (USPS) to her April 28, 2022, letter about undelivered and delayed mail throughout the District of Columbia and her office’s difficulty in receiving timely responses from USPS. In its response, USPS apologized for the delays in responding to her office and said D.C. postal officials recently implemented new procedures to avoid future delays in responding, including a new platform to track congressional inquiries. The response also noted that USPS in D.C. recently made a push to substantially reduce the number of outstanding congressional cases, bringing them nearly current.

“I am pleased USPS responded to my letter on mail delivery issues and my office’s difficulties in getting responses to cases we opened on behalf of constituents,” Norton said. “When I sent the letter, my office had approximately 130 mail cases open, many of which had been open for nearly a year. We have been able to resolve and close nearly 75% of those, bringing the current total down to 26 open cases. I will be watching to ensure that USPS maintains this level of responsiveness.”

The USPS response letter follows.

475 L’ENFANT PLAZA SW ROOM 10804
WASHINGTON DC 20260-3500
WWW.USPS.COM
GOVERNMENT RELATIONS

May 12, 2022

The Honorable Eleanor Holmes Norton
House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515-5101

Dear Congresswoman Norton:

This responds to your April 28 letter to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy regarding Congressional inquiries and mail service issues in Washington.

I understand your interest in this matter. Please know that the U.S. Postal Service always attempts to deliver mail timely and efficiently. Likewise, Postal Service representatives at every

level of the organization – from those in local postal facilities to district offices and beyond – strive to be as responsive as possible to the concerns of our customers and stakeholders.

There are a variety of reasons for a delay in the delivery of a mailpiece or package, from transportation problems in our system to unscheduled employee absences. In this instance, local postal officials advised that there are no systemic delays in Washington similar to those we experienced earlier this year during the surge in Omicron-related employee absences. Postal managers and employees across the city remain committed to providing timely and reliable service, and to mitigating delays swiftly as they arise.

With regard to responding to Congressional inquiries, we apologize for any delays that you and your constituents have experienced. Washington postal officials assured us that their office has recently implemented new procedures to avoid future delays, including dedicating more employees to researching and responding to inquiries. These procedures also will include use of the Congressional Portal, which will enhance the trackability of constituents’ inquiries and direct them to the appropriate postal personnel for a timely response. We were further advised that Washington postal officials have substantially reduced the number of outstanding cases and are nearly current. Please be assured that they are working diligently to research and respond to your constituents’ concerns in a timely manner.

If I can be of assistance with other postal issues, please let me know.

Sincerely,

James Cari
Government Relations Representative”