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Politics, Virginia

Lawmakers push USPS for answers about mail delays, disruptions in Richmond area

Rebecca Barnabi
richmond virginia
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United States Postal Service delays and disruptions continue to impact Virginians in the Richmond area.

Today, U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine led a bipartisan group of Virginia lawmakers in pressing the USPS on the mail delivery delays and disruptions. Sen. Mark R. Warner and U.S. Reps. Jennifer McClellan, Rob Wittman, Abigail Spanberger, Jen Kiggans and Bob Good joined Kaine in sending the letter.

The push by lawmakers follows an alarming report that the Richmond VA Medical Center recently received hundreds of colon cancer test samples via USPS that are unusable because they exceed the 15-day window for which the samples were valid. Some samples date as far back as mid-2023. In their letter, the lawmakers requested a briefing with USPS and a tour of the relevant USPS facility to better understand the causes of the delays and discuss what is being done to prevent them from happening again.

“We want to be clear; this is unacceptable,” the lawmakers wrote. “These issues with postal delays have caused unnecessary stress and harm for our constituents and suggest to us that the issues in the region are worse than we thought.”

The letter continues: “We are unsatisfied with the level of urgency and responsiveness the agency has demonstrated with the issues we have raised previously, and this must change with this new revelation. USPS has recently declined requests for meetings and tours to discuss these issues – Postal Service customers in Central Virginia deserve transparency and explanation, as soon as possible, regarding these issues.”

Richmond: Virginia lawmakers push USPS for transparency on mail delivery issues – Augusta Free Press

Risk American families, workers cannot afford: Spanberger pushes USPS on mail delivery delays – Augusta Free Press

USPS mail delivery delays affect Augusta County residents’ ability to pay taxes on time – Augusta Free Press

 

Rebecca Barnabi

Rebecca Barnabi

Rebecca J. Barnabi is the national editor of Augusta Free Press. A graduate of the University of Mary Washington, she began her journalism career at The Fredericksburg Free-Lance Star. In 2013, she was awarded first place for feature writing in the Maryland, Delaware, District of Columbia Awards Program, and was honored by the Virginia School Boards Association’s 2019 Media Honor Roll Program for her coverage of Waynesboro Schools. Her background in newspapers includes writing about features, local government, education and the arts.