RI Delegation Blasts New U.S. Postal Service Delivery Initiative

PROVIDENCE, RI — The Rhode Island congressional delegation sent a joint open letter to U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy on Monday, and held a news conference in Providence Tuesday morning, slamming new postal service guidelines that they said they've been told have "severely curtailed the ability of letter carriers to deliver the mail on a consistent and timely basis."

The delegation of Sens. Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse, and Reps. David Cicilline and James Langevin, cited the RI Chapter of National Association of Letter Carriers' report that the USPS, without consultation, informed the NALC of a new initiative called "Expedited Street/Afternoon Sortation" that is already hampering timely mail delivery in Pawtucket.

"We have also been told that other postal branches in the state have decided to implement this program, or a hybrid of the ESAS, resulting in limitations of mail delivery," the delegation said in the letter.

On Tuesday, both Cicilline and Langevin called on DeJoy to resign.

"This is a shameless attempt by (President Donald Trump) and the Postmaster General to degrade the postal service and degrade services to Rhode Islanders," Cicilline said at the news conference. "We cannot allow the president to play political games during a pandemic. ... This is a blatant attempt to impede Americans' right to vote."

DeJoy said in a statement later on Tuesday he would "suspend" his initiatives until after the election "to avoid even the appearance of impact on election mail."

The abrupt reversal comes as more than 20 states, including RI, announced they would be suing to stop the changes.

"The Postal Service is ready to handle whatever volume of election mail it receives," DeJoy said in the statement.

Whitehouse said at the news conference he has been told by constituents that medication delivery has been delayed and payments — such as car loans — have been recorded as past due with penalties when the constituent claims to have sent in the payment early enough where it should have arrived on time.

"Everywhere you look around the postal service you see something is up," Whitehouse said. "We are here to tell the Trump administration to knock it off."

There has been growing concern across the country that USPS cutbacks —including the removal of mailboxes from streets in New England — will delay delivery times and make the government service less reliable.

"This shouldn't be a partisan issue," Reed said on Tuesday. "Getting the mail out should be what we do in America."

The delegation said the change in protocol — in which mail carriers are told to resort and leave undelivered mail until the next day instead of staying on the road until all of the mail for that day is delivered — means "mail is delayed on a recurring basis with an increasing backlog."

"This is an unprecedented attack on a service we rely on," Langevin said on Tuesday. "I am outraged because the changes are a threat to public health and our elections at a time when mail delivery is more important than ever."

"Any attempt to undermine the USPS is unacceptable," the delegation collectively said n the letter. "Unilateral changes to services could harm all Americans who rely on the services provided by the USPS. Additionally, the hardworking men and women of the USPS have been on the front line providing critical services to keep postal operations functioning during this pandemic. Undermining workplace conditions and rules without input or oversight is an affront to these essential workers, many of whom are veterans."

Related Patch Coverage: U.S. Mail Is So Bad In Chicago Post Office 'Closed For Lunch'

Brookline's Mailboxes Start To Disappear As USPS Reviews Use

Post Office Cutbacks Fuel Concerns Over Mail-In Ballots