Lawmakers call out post office for mail delays

Congressmen in Wisconsin and Minnesota have signed a bipartisan letter urging the U.S. Postal Service to address mail delays.

Wisconsin Seventh District Rep. Tom Tiffany and Minnesota Eighth District Congressman Pete Stauber signed the letter alongside over a dozen others. The letter is in response to the postal service announcing in August they will be adjusting mail delivery times as an effort to save money.

This will mean delays for residents in rural communities more than 50 miles from a USPS processing center. Lawmakers stressed that a one-day delivery delay could mean late fees on a bill, a held-up paycheck creating financial stress and increased health risks awaiting critical medication.

In the second quarter of fiscal year 2024, the USPS reported that their on-time quarterly performance fell to 69.9% for three-to-five-day First Class mail delivery, below USPS’s target of 90.3% on-time delivery for three-to-five day mail, the letter said. This means that even before these changes take effect, nearly a third of USPS customers who use the three-to-five-day mailing options are not receiving their mail on time.

Tiffany in a news release said he has heard from “numerous newspapers and residents across the seventh district who are being negatively impacted by delays.”

“The Iron County Miner, for example, has seen delays stretching into weeks, and in some cases, newspapers are not delivered at all, according to a constituent’s report. I’ve also been in touch with the Vilas County News-Review and readers of the Lakeland Times, all of whom are also experiencing frustrating delivery delays,” he said.

With that in mind, lawmakers urged the USPS to reconsider these plans.

“While we understand the need for modernization and financial changes across the Postal Service, these changes cannot come at the expense of rural residents who rely on the USPS,” the letter said.

Lawmakers requested a list of counties, towns and ZIP codes that will face longer wait times for mail because of this plan.

A spokesperson for the USPS declined to comment, but did say “we will respond directly to the Congressman.”