Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., in a letter to the U.S. Postal Service, is demanding to know why there are continual problems with mail delivery across Virginia.
“Not only are Virginians waiting long periods of time for their deliveries, I’ve heard from some who have noticed that critical items are never delivered at all,” Kaine wrote in the letter to Scott Slusher, government liaison to the Postal Service. “A Virginian in Arlington repeatedly went several days without mail over the period of several months and did not receive specific items, including a Virginia Auto Registration from the DMV and a Virginia Driver’s license.
“This was the received response for this case from the USPS: ‘After investigation and consultation with local management, it has been found that the office may experience delivery delays due to employee availability issues. However, they are taking the steps necessary to ensure every effort has been made to deliver the mail daily. The route in which your constituent resides is current however delivery on this route maybe later in the day. Once again, please allow us to apologize for the unfortunate customer experience.'”
Kaine said in the letter that from Arlington to Smyth County in Southwest that his constituents “are all experiencing missing bills, medications, tax documents,” and are going sometimes weeks without mail.
“My constituents are understandably frustrated and eager to know if help is on the way. I appreciate any information you can share,” he wrote.
Kaine specifically asks the Postal Service whether staffing shortages are still an issue post-pandemic; what the region-specific challenges are and what’s being done to address them; and what systemic changes policymakers need to consider to try to solve the problem.
Kaine urges people who are having issues with their mail delivery to reach out to his office online.
Feature image courtesy Matt Gush/stock.adobe.com
For more stories like this, subscribe to Northern Virginia Magazine’s News newsletter.
