College Station, Texas – Today, U.S. Congressman Michael McCaul sent a letter to the United States Postmaster General DeJoy on behalf of his constituents about the persistent issues with the United States Postal Service (USPS) in the Bryan and College Station area.
“Constituents have conveyed distressing stories of checks, bills, and medication being delayed or lost in transit, leading to detrimental effects for seniors and small businesses that depend on your services for their livelihoods,” wrote Rep. McCaul. “These conditions are completely unacceptable, and as the federal representative for this area, it is my duty to conduct oversight and seek accountability for the postal service’s failures.”
The full text of the letter can be here and found below:
Dear Postmaster General DeJoy:
I write to bring to your attention persistent issues with the United States Postal Service (USPS) in my Congressional District, specifically in the Bryan and College Station area. I am writing on behalf of my constituents, who have shared multiple accounts regarding various problems with USPS. My office has received reports of extended delays, lost packages, and individuals not receiving any mail for multiple days. While individuals experiencing these issues have utilized the USPS local reporting system, some of my constituents’ cases have not been resolved, and problems continue to occur throughout the Brazos Valley region.
With the 2024 presidential election 12 days away, these persistent issues have raised grave concerns about USPS’ dependability in this region to deliver one of Americans’ most essential rights: their vote. Additionally, constituents have conveyed distressing stories of checks, visas, passports and medication being delayed or lost in transit, leading to detrimental effects for seniors and small businesses that depend on your services for their livelihoods. There have also been reports of neighborhood cluster mailboxes being left wide open, providing anyone passing by — including potential bad actors — with access to constituents’ mail.
These conditions are completely unacceptable, and as the federal representative for this area, it is my duty to conduct oversight and seek accountability for the postal service’s failures.
When deliveries cannot be completed or are delayed, customer service representatives must be available to address the issue, and the agency must be transparent regarding service delays or changes. When these problems persist, as they have in my district, USPS leadership must answer for these failures in a timely and open manner, and they must act to resolve and prevent situations like this from occurring again.
I continue to support and appreciate the hard work of our postal workers — including local USPS representatives and employees in the Bryan/College Station area — who provide vital services to Texans. It is critical they are given adequate resources to fulfill their duties.
Due to these ongoing issues, I request answers to the following questions:
- What is the source of these ongoing problems in the Bryan/College Station area (i.e., technology glitches, worker shortages, etc.)?
- What corrective measures are currently being taken to address these problems and ensure more timely mail delivery?
- Regarding reported incidents of cluster mailboxes being left open, what procedures are in place for local USPS officials to prevent this from happening again?
- When individuals are facing missing or severely delayed packages, what actions or resources does USPS provide for them to resolve the issue, especially if their mail or package contains consequential material such as monetary items, official documents or medication?
- What assurances can USPS officials provide my constituents that these occurrences will not continue as the voters begin sending in their mail-in ballots?
- If issues stem from under-staffing within USPS, what legislative remedies can Congress enact to speed up deliveries both in Brazos County and around the country?
Thank you for working to address these concerns, and we look forward to your response.