Washington, D.C. – Senator Susan Collins met with the Inspector General (IG) of the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), Tammy Hull, to discuss the IG’s recent examination of Postal Service quality in Southern Maine. This comes when citizens throughout Maine, particularly in rural areas, continue to experience significant issues with postal delivery as a result of several factors including staffing shortages.
“Mainers have shared with each of my six state offices about the ongoing mail delivery issues they face. The fact that in one day the IG found over 150,000 pieces of delayed mail in Maine is unacceptable,” said Senator Collins. “I will continue to work closely with the Inspector General of the USPS to address workforce shortages, helping to ensure reliable service is restored to the communities and families who rely on the mail service every day.”
This January, Senator Collins, along with Senator Tom Carper (D-DE), sent a letter to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy calling on the USPS to implement proven best practices to address the workforce shortage impacting retention and causing significant service delays. As a result of a request from Senator Collins, USPS IG Hull reviewed six postal facilities in Maine, finding numerous issues including that the underreporting of delayed mail was rampant.