WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Rob Wittman (R-VA-01) met with U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy alongside U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner, U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine (both D-VA), and U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA-07) to receive a status update on the U.S. Postal Service’s (USPS) ongoing work to improve service in Virginia while implementing new efficiency reforms. A representative from U.S. Rep. Jennifer McClellan’s (D-VA-04) office attended the meeting as well.
“Today, we met with Postmaster DeJoy for a productive conversation on the progress made since our last meeting—and continued to voice the concerns of Virginians who know there is still significant room for improvement,” the members said. “While we are glad to see some gains in the on-time delivery rate in Virginia, there’s much more work to do. We will continue to press for increased transparency, greater engagement with the public, and a higher standard of service for communities across Virginia.”
Following advocacy by the Virginia Congressional Delegation, the on-time delivery rate of first-class mail in Virginia improved from 66% to 77.4% during the first quarter of this year. More recent data shows additional improvement. But there is still much work necessary to meet the USPS goal of 93%.
Today’s meeting came after an April meeting between DeJoy and members of Virginia’s congressional delegation, in which the members emphasized their concerns regarding the USPS Inspector General’s report on the Richmond Regional Processing and Distribution Center (RPDC) in Sandston. The report highlighted various issues including an egregious lack of attention to detail, such as pieces of mail falling off conveyor belts and being lost; poor synchronizing between machines processing mail at the facility and the trucks transporting mail to and from the facility; and broader questions about whether the RPDC model is generating the promised cost savings and efficiency improvements.
In March, Rep. Wittman visited the RPDC in Sandston to meet with USPS officials and see firsthand how the facility was operating. Also in March, the congressman joined his Virginia delegation colleagues in sharing stories of Postal Service disruptions and delays across Virginia.
In January, Rep. Wittman joined a bipartisan group of Virginia lawmakers in pressing the USPS on the mail delivery delays and disruptions impacting Virginians in the Richmond region.
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