CBS19: Congressional reaction to slowing USPS

The U.S. Postal Service has seen slowdowns across the county. Some families across Central Virginia go days without seeing a single piece of mail.

Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger from Virginia’s Seventh District says she supports the USPS and is working in Washington, D.C. to keep the institution going.

“Mail delivery of prescription drug medication, and for our seniors in particular, for those expecting paychecks in the mail, and moving towards the future absentee ballots, the slowing of the mail is deeply, deeply worrisome,” Spanberger said.

She said the slowdown has been a result of directives by new Postmaster General Louis DeJoy.

“Refusing to allow employees to do overtime work, shutting down the sorting facilities, in some cases reports of removing sorting machines from facilities, forcing people to do it by hand, which of course in a circumstance where you’re also denying the potential for overtime is creating tremendous backlogs,” she said.

Spanberger said she does not agree with these choices.

“This is an effort that is clearly slowing the mail, my expectation is the Postmaster General should reverse his course of action,” she said.

The USPS has been in financial trouble for years. The Postal Service has accumulated more than $100 billion in debt. Spanberger attributes much of this debt to the 2006 Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act, forcing the USPS to pre-fund retirement benefits.

Spanberger hopes to reverse those actions in congress.

“Removing that 2006 law that requires they pre-fund retirement 75 years in advance,” she said. “Providing additional loans from the federal government, grants to the postal service and I support particularly during a pandemic where people are relying on the delivery of goods to their homes.”

She hopes these actions will help the USPS survive long-term.

“It’s incredibly vital that we ensure that the Postal Service continues to operate,” Spanberger said.

Representative Denver Riggleman of Virginia’s Fifth District tweeted out support for the USPS:

About 17,000 Virginians work for the USPS and there are more than 900 postal facilities throughout Virginia.