Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) called on the United States Postal Service and Postmaster General Megan Brennan to look into the noticeable mail delivery delays since the consolidation of the Processing and Distribution Facility in Erie, Pennsylvania. Members of the community have reported serious delays, resulting in penalties and late fees due to the delayed delivery of bills, mortgage payments, and related mail.
“As the USPS considers future decisions and reforms to improve cost-savings, I ask that you please take into consideration the viewpoints of your customers and the problems they have faced due to the recent consolidation and pending closure,” Senator Casey wrote. “I ask that you work on collecting this data and that your future decisions ensure that customers’ needs and expectations continue to be met.”
The full text of Casey’s letter can be seen below:
Dear Ms. Brennan:
I write today to express concerns with the noticeable increase in mail delivery times since the consolidation of the Processing and Distribution Facility in Erie, Pennsylvania. The purpose of this letter is to urge you to begin collecting, and eventually make public, data on the delivery times due to facility consolidations and closures across Pennsylvania and the Nation.
Members of the Erie community have expressed serious concerns about how delivery times have affected mail delivery and efficiency. Specifically, the delays caused by shipping the mail to facilities outside of Erie have resulted in slower services to and from individuals in the region. Constituents have reported that they need to send bill payments, mortgage payments and other mail items almost an entire week earlier than usual to ensure the mail is received on time so they are not docked late fees or penalties. As a result, I respectfully ask you to develop a data collection system and provide more information on the perceived lags in delivery times.
As the USPS considers future decisions and reforms to improve cost-savings, I ask that you please take into consideration the viewpoints of your customers and the problems they have faced due to the recent consolidation and pending closure. I ask that you work on collecting this data and that your future decisions ensure that customers’ needs and expectations continue to be met.
I understand that the United States Postal Service (USPS) continues to face great financial difficulties and that tough decisions and reforms have to be made. However, I remain committed to working with you to overcome these challenges while maintaining the reliability of the USPS and preserving essential services on which many Pennsylvanians depend. If there is any way that my office can assist you in these efforts, please contact me or have your staff contact Kyle Hannon in my Erie office at (814) 874-5080. Thank you for your attention to this request.
Sincerely,
Robert P. Casey, Jr.
United States Senator
