January 30, 2024
We rely on the United States Postal Service to deliver important and timely payments and packages, legal documents, tickets for upcoming events and even critical medications.
So it’s alarming that in January some Madison residents noticed an unannounced disruption in their mail service. This problem is not isolated to Madison or even southern Wisconsin. Here are some recent headlines from across the United States.
Closer to Wisconsin, an audit was just released about late deliveries in the St. Paul, MN area—a problem which has been occurring for more than a year. U.S. Representative Angie Craig pushed for that audit.
NBC15 News reported in mid-January that some residents on the east side of Madison had not received their mail for up to a week. Similar reports were shared on social media platforms from residents on the north and west sides of Madison plus Middleton.
A question nobody appears to be asking is, where is that missing mail sitting on the days when it is not delivered? Is it still secured in the post office buildings in Madison? Or is sitting in the delivery trucks which could make the mail (checks, bills, medications, packages, etc.) vulnerable to theft and fraud?
U.S. Representative Mark Pocan has now called for a public hearing with USPS Postmaster General Louis DeJoy in Washington, D.C. Other representatives across the country have asked for similar hearings to get to the bottom of late and missing mail deliveries.
NBC15 received a reply from the USPS Communications Team on Tuesday, January 31 that stated in part:
“…The Postal Service appreciates customers’ patience with us as we continue to work to address these issues.
We will respond directly to the separate letter Rep. Pocan addressed to the Postal Service on delivery issues but have nothing to offer on correspondence addressed to the House Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee Chairman and Ranking Member.” -Desai Abdul-Razzaaq, Strategic Communications USPS Corporate Communications.