A new online portal for members of Congress to file constituents’ complaints with the U.S. Postal Service was touted as a way of streamlining the process, but a group of Illinois Democrats on Tuesday slammed it — and vowed not to use it.
The Congressional Entry Portal was launched three weeks ago. It allows U.S. lawmakers to file constituents’ complaints about the quality of their mail service. But on Tuesday, nine members of the U.S. House of Representatives from the Chicago area — all Democrats — said they have sent a letter to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy outlining a litany of problems.
“This new process is extremely cumbersome and bureaucratic, does not address the mail and package delivery issues our constituents are experiencing, is problematic for those who are not tech savvy or do not have access to a computer, and is simply not working,” according to the letter, which was provided to the Sun-Times.
U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, who is leading efforts to change the system, said her staff is no longer using the portal, since it puts her most vulnerable constituents at risk of being forgotten.