Vermont’s congressional delegation is demanding answers to the postal problems that have been plaguing a number of the state’s residents.
On Thursday, U.S. Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Peter Welch, D-Vt., along with U.S. Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vt., sent letters to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy and to the U.S. Postal Service board of governors, seeking information about prolonged postal service delays around Vermont.
“These delays are nothing short of life-threatening for Vermonters who rely on the Postal Service for prescription medication delivery,” the delegation wrote in a letter to DeJoy.
“In fact, we have heard from multiple constituents who have been forced to order emergency prescription replacements because their original medication never arrived or arrived in unusable condition. That is an outrage,” the delegation wrote.
Issues with mail delays and understaffing have been especially prevalent in Chittenden and Windham Counties, with the town of Hinesburg experiencing a backlog of over 1,000 packages, the delegation said in its letters.
Merrily Lovell, chair of the Hinesburg Selectboard, said she started to notice significant issues with the postal service in October, but things really worsened around December.
“I was getting mail once a week, maybe. And other people were getting mail once every other week, so it has been a real hardship for many people in town,” Lovell said.
Earlier this month, four members of the Hinesburg Selectboard sent a letter to the Vermont congressional delegation, outlining their concerns and ongoing difficulties with mail service in the town.
Lovell said she received phone calls from representatives of Balint, Sanders and Welch shortly after sending the letter. “I’m also happy to say that our three representatives were very responsive not just to me but people posted on Front Porch Forum,” she said.
In the Feb. 16 letters, Balint, Sanders and Welch stress that they do not place blame on Vermont’s postal workers, but rather the agency’s administration.
“We know postal workers are working 12 hours or more each day, 7 days each week. Their commitment to the work is unwavering, even though they have been entirely let down by Postal Service leadership,” they said in the letter to DeJoy.
Lovell said she has noticed the strain on Hinesburg’s postal workers. “We really want to support these postal workers because they are under extreme stress,” she said.
In its letter, the delegation requests that DeJoy answer six inquiries by March 1 and demands that the postmaster general address the issues in Hinesburg and staffing problems throughout Vermont.
The letter also notes the significance of the Postal Reform Act, which Congress passed in April 2022 to improve health care coverage and retirement benefits for employees. The legislation also calls for the creation of a public dashboard within the postal agency to track service.
“What efforts have you implemented so far? Do you plan to hire additional staff at locations in Vermont, and if so, how many,” the Vermont delegation asked in the letter.
This is not the first time Sanders has addressed issues with DeJoy, who has held the office of postmaster general since 2020.
In December 2021, Sanders called for DeJoy’s removal, citing his plan to “slow down” mail delivery, cut postal service hours and close processing centers.
“By any objective measure, Louis DeJoy, a top campaign contributor of Donald Trump, has been, by far and away, the worst Postmaster General in the modern history of America,” Sanders said in his December 2021 statement, which outlined similar mail delays in Vermont.
In this most recent missive, the congressional delegation expressed frustration at a lack of improvement. “For years, our Vermont Congressional Delegation has engaged with you and regional Postal Service leadership in an attempt to address mail delays and staffing issues, yet no help has come.”
An email to the postmaster general’s public relations director was not immediately returned Friday afternoon.
In Hinesburg, mail service appears to be improving, according to Lovell — and at a critical time as Town Meeting Day approaches. Lovell said she was nervous about whether voting materials would be delivered to residents in time, but so far, so good.
“I’m happy to say that everyone I talked to did get the Town Report … and the ballots are available now in fact, so that’s a huge relief, ” Lovell said.