HENRICO COUNTY, Va. -- Two Virginia leaders toured a Henrico post office on Friday after thousands of Virginians reported slowdowns or delays in their mail delivery.
U. S. Senator Mark Warner and Attorney General Mark Herring spoke to reporters following their visit to the Regency Post Office on Starling Drive.
“These postal workers do a great job. They’ve done remarkable work through the midst of a pandemic,” Warner said.
However, his office has received 11,000 complaints regarding delays in important mail deliveries within USPS.
“Where people were not receiving their medicine on a timely basis. Where people were getting charged late fees when they paid their bills but took too long for delivery. We’ve had literally thousands of questions, ’Is the post office trying to undermine the integrity of the election by slowing down absentee ballots?’” Warner explained.
The House has passed a bill that would provide an additional $25 billion to the U.S. Postal Service, reverse the recent changes and prevent the agency from implementing any new changes until January 2021.
Warner said he hoped the Senate soon passes similar legislation.
Meanwhile, Attorney General Herring has sued President Donald Trump’s administration following changes at the post office.
“There have been at least three sorting machines removed from the Dulles mail facility and one was in the process of remove from the Merrifield processing facility,” Herring said. “I have demanded more information from the [Trump] administration about the changes they’ve made in Virginia and so far they have failed or refused to respond to that.”
Herring said there were also changes in policies requiring trucks to leave by a certain time whether or not there was mail on the truck.
On Friday, Sen. Tim Kaine also held a virtual discussion with a number of Virginians who wrote to his office sharing their experiences with recent USPS service delays in order to hear more about their concerns
CBS News has reported that in his two months on the job, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy has overseen a series of recent operational changes, such as eliminating most overtime and ending extra package deliveries.
DeJoy suspended several changes after public outcry, but refused to commit to restoring mail-sorting machines.
The Postmaster General has reassured election officials that he will prioritize mail ballots. A USPS spokesperson said anyone with issues with mail delivery should contact their customer service.
Dejoy has stated that the changes were implemented in order to streamline the mail and get the postal service to a more financially stable condition.
In August, CBS 6 interviewed Henrico online business owner Leslie Sarr who stated her income relies on mail delivery.
“This isn’t just a matter of ballots or birthday cards, which are important. But, also the way probably millions of people like me are able to run their business,” she explained.
