ATLANTA — The U.S. Postal Service is up against deadlines laid down by Georgia's senators, who are demanding answers to questions about service delays in the metro Atlanta and north Georgia region.
Sen. Warnock issued a series of questions in a letter to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy in mid-April and set a deadline for a response that arrives today -- Friday, May 10. 11Alive reached out to his office on Friday to see if he obtained any answers.
Among Warnock's inquiries were, "How are you working to improve efficiencies and delivery times out of the Atlanta RPDC facility following the early disruptions?" The senator also asked about mail delivery delays being disproportionate for underserved and rural communities and whether election mail would be impacted.
Meanwhile, Sen. Ossoff followed up on his fiery exchange with DeJoy last month, in a Senate committee hearing, with a new letter this week renewing his demand for answers.
"It has been nearly a month since we spoke... as we have discussed throughout the past few weeks, it is urgent that the performance of USPS delivery in Georgia improve immediately," the letter states in part.
It noted that DeJoy told Ossoff at the April hearing that the start of service improvements would be happening "now" and that "we will get to where we need to be in about 60 days."
Ossoff is now asking for an update "within one week" on the current on-time delivery statistics in metro Atlanta.
For weeks, 11Alive viewers have written in about problems surrounding mail delays and even missing mail, with many traced back to the Palmetto mail processing center.
It's an issue that postal customer Herbert Elijah Goodwin Junior thinks should be a priority.
“We would hope that our officials would do something about this issue so that people can get their mail on time," Goodwin said.
Goodwin has been coming to the post office in Norcross off Buford Highway twice daily to check his mailbox for something vital to his health and well-being. He says he hopes leaders fix the issue soon.
“I came mailbox to get my usual mail and any things that I would need," he said. "I’ve been looking for some things from the state as well as medication.”
Postmaster General Louis Dejoy apologized on Thursday for the delays and pledged to correct errors in the system.
You can read both letters at the bottom of this page.
Ossoff was unsparing in his critique of the delays last month with DeJoy,
"You've got weeks, not months, to fix this. And if you don't fix it, 36% on time delivery, I don't think you're fit for this job," he said, referencing the on-time delivery rate.
At the hearing, DeJoy acknowledged he had not read a previous letter sent from Ossoff.
"Let me just give you a friendly piece of advice -- you personally should read letters from members of the U.S. Senate committee that funds and oversees your operations, particularly where you are failing abysmally to fulfil your core mission in my state," Ossoff said.
11Alive has been tracking on-time rates for First Class mail for weeks. Operations are slowly improving but the on-time rate for all First Class mail still remains below 70%. Meanwhile, only 44% of single-piece letters are being processed on time.
11Alive is also reaching out Friday to USPS to see whether they've responded to Ossoff's latest inquiry.
Sen. Ossoff May 9 letter
Sen. Warnock April 12 letter
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