GEORGIA, USA — Calls for the postmaster general to take action regarding the rather "disastrous" rollout of a new plan that caused issues for many Georgians who experienced delays receiving their mail.
On Tuesday, members of the Georgia Congressional Delegation, in a bipartisan effort, sent a letter to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy to seek an advisory opinion from the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC), which is required by law.
"As you well know, the Postal Service’s massive network overhaul has been nothing short of disastrous. Mail delays have plagued metropolitan areas where USPS regional network overhauls have taken place," the letter stated.
The rollout of the "Delivering for America" plan started earlier this year in February. In Georgia, the Regional Processing and Distribution Center facility in Palmetto was supposed to help with better mail distribution.
Weeks later, many residents contacted 11Alive about their issues with receiving and sending mail.
According to the letter, the United States Postal Service must seek the advisory opinion "for any changes impacting postal services on a nationwide or substantially nationwide basis."
The letter also noted the PRC's comments on the mailing service's delay in seeking an opinion.
“PRC Order No. 7061 questions the Postal Service’s failure to seek an advisory opinion, stating, ‘It is hard to see how these initiatives will not involve a change in the nature of services.’ The PRC notes that USPS plans to reduce its facilities from 430 to 220 as a part of their network consolidation efforts, moving some facilities as far as 4 hours away," the delegation stated.
11Alive previously reported on the rippling effect of the delays on small businesses, taxes and even important medications.
Lawmakers also mentioned several news reports about the impacts to traffic caused by the facility's rollout. Several trucks filled with mail were lined up outside the facility after the backlog.
DeJoy has stated that the mail processing times have improved but are not completely back to where it was before the facility opened.
"The current mail delivery situation across the country, caused by USPS’ failed network modernization plan, is completely unacceptable and was entirely preventable," the letter stated.
The letter concluded with a deadline for the postmaster general to respond to the request for the advisory opinion by Sept. 13.
A spokesperson for USPS released the following statement on its behalf:
“The Postal Service will provide a written response directly to the Georgia Congressional Delegation, per our established process. With regard to the suggestion for a PRC Advisory Opinion made in the letter, the Postmaster General, in an April 16 exchange with the Chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, has already publicly shared the Postal Service’s plans to seek an Advisory Opinion of fairly significant scope related to the urgently needed network modernizations nationwide, subject to the multiple governance steps required. Multiple letters to the full Georgia Delegation have been sent sharing the investments and steady progress being made to transform the Atlanta region. In addition, we have provided extensive written explanations to the Delegation detailing the recovery actions taken to address several executional challenges of the Atlanta transformation, many stemming from the magnitude of the needed change in the area. A number of members of the Delegation have also toured the facilities and received service performance updates. We feel our transparency has been exceptional. Further specifics on the scope, nature, and timing of a potential Advisory Opinion would not be appropriate to get ahead of the prescribed steps in the regulatory process.”