Hoyer Writes to Postmaster General DeJoy About USPS Delays and Problems in MD-05

WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (MD-05) today sent a letter to U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy outlining unacceptable problems with mail delivery and U.S. Postal Service (USPS) reliability and service across Maryland's Fifth Congressional District, which mirror issues encountered across the country, and urging USPS leadership to take action to address them.

"Many constituents have contacted my office in frustration that they are unable to pay bills on time by mail due to USPS delivery delays – and that they have been receiving failure-to-pay notices from utilities and other entities even though they mailed their payments on time or early," Congressman Hoyer wrote in his letter. "Others have reached out to me and my staff because they paid for USPS express or overnight shipping only to see their packages arrive late, causing them to have wasted the extra money they spent on this expedited service. …The on-time performance rate appears to be an abstract concept at this point, with no clear explanation of how USPS defines on-time performance once mail leaves the local post office en route to Marylanders' mailboxes. None of this is acceptable, and all of these cases must be addressed quickly and resolved."

Today at 11:00 a.m., Congressman Hoyer is virtually joining other Members of Congress at a field hearing of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform's Subcommittee on Government Operations in Baltimore, MD, to hear from USPS officials about service problems in Maryland. To watch that hearing live, click here. To read Congressman Hoyer's letter in full, click here or see below:

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February 14, 2022

Postmaster General Louis DeJoy
U.S. Postal Service
475 L'Enfant Plaza SW
Washington DC 20260

Dear Postmaster General DeJoy:

Over the past year, as you are surely aware, Members from the Maryland Congressional Delegation in the U.S. Congress have written to you and to regional U.S. Postal Service (USPS) leaders regarding issues with mail delivery and service problems across our state, which parallel broader USPS challenges nationally. I am writing to you both because these problems have continued into the new year and because I have been hearing more and more from constituents in Maryland's Fifth District specifically about troubling problems they have had with USPS in recent weeks – not limited to service delays.

Postal delays continue to plague our communities and have a serious, negative effect on the well-being of Marylanders, particularly those living in the counties I represent: Prince George's, Charles, Calvert, Anne Arundel, and St. Mary's Counties. Many constituents have contacted my office in frustration that they are unable to pay bills on time by mail due to USPS delivery delays – and that they have been receiving failure-to-pay notices from utilities and other entities even though they mailed their payments on time or early. Others have reached out to me and my staff because they paid for USPS express or overnight shipping only to see their packages arrive late, causing them to have wasted the extra money they spent on this expedited service. One constituent contacted me because a check for a very large sum had been sent by registered mail and then lost by USPS. I have heard directly from the mayors of College Park and Laurel about the inadequate services available to their residents. The on-time performance rate appears to be an abstract concept at this point, with no clear explanation of how USPS defines on-time performance once mail leaves the local post office en route to Marylanders' mailboxes. None of this is acceptable, and all of these cases must be addressed quickly and resolved.

Beyond these unacceptable delays in mail delivery, I have been in contact with Marylanders from my district who have had issues with USPS customer service and the actions of USPS employees in our region. One constituent in Laurel, Maryland, reached out to me after a USPS truck hit a personal vehicle and would not stop to provide assistance. Multiple others called my office to complain about the poor customer service at their post offices, with one in Clinton, Maryland, noting that they were asked to pay to replace a lock on their mailbox that was broken by USPS employees. I have also heard from several constituents that USPS personnel at multiple locations in the Fifth District appear unable to process passport applications and, as a result, have been holding them back and causing undue delays. Furthermore, my office has had no communication from USPS after making an official inquiry about mail trucks from the Brandywine, Maryland, facility – in Prince George's County – being parked in a residential neighborhood and on route US-301 with no coordination with County officials, causing major traffic jams.

I continue to receive constituent correspondence and calls about broken machines being used at USPS facilities, particularly at the Southern Maryland Processing Center, leading to delays and an unsafe work environment. It is now a common sight as well in the Fifth District for USPS carriers to be delivering mail and packages late into the night as a result of staffing shortages and high turnover.

The ongoing issues statewide have been made very clear in our Delegation's letters to USPS. I hope that, in addition to continuing to respond to those inquiries, you and your subordinates will take all appropriate action to ensure that these specific problems in Southern Maryland and across Maryland's Fifth District will be properly and promptly addressed.

The House passed the bipartisan Postal Service Reform Act this week, which I hope will soon make additional resources available to USPS to address systemic issues with delays and reliability, legislation I was proud to bring to the Floor and support. There is no reason to wait, however, to address immediate problems like those I have outlined, and I hope you will act expeditiously to do so even while this legislation continues to move toward enactment.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this important matter.

Sincerely yours,

/s/

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