Senators Invite Postmaster DeJoy To Visit Colorado Post Offices And See Problems Firsthand

By Lindsey Toomer, Colorado Newsline

February 23, 2023

U.S. Sens. Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper of Colorado wrote to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy seeking prompt solutions to continuing mail delivery issues in Colorado communities.

In the Feb. 23 letter, the senators invited DeJoy to visit some Colorado post offices to see how the delivery challenges are impacting the state’s U.S. Postal Service customers firsthand.

“For over two years, our offices have received a sharp rise in complaints from Coloradans about longer delays in mail delivery and gaps in other USPS services,” the letter reads. “These communities report that Post Offices in Colorado have had limited hours; hour-long lines to pick up mail and packages; and poor facility maintenance.”

The senators asked DeJoy to urgently address the issues affecting Coloradans by resolving staff shortages, partnering with towns to find affordable housing for USPS staff, revamping infrastructure in Colorado facilities to better handle packages, and reinstating regular updates with Colorado’s federal delegation.

Since the holiday season, Coloradans in rural mountain communities like Buena Vista and Summit County saw their mail deliveries severely delayed, and the Postal Service borrowed employees from states around Colorado to help the local post offices catch up. U.S. Reps. Joe Neguse, D-Lafayette, and Brittany Pettersen, D-Lakewood, also wrote to the Postal Service leadership seeking solutions to problems their constituents were seeing.

“Colorado and the country rely on USPS’ universal service mandate to receive essential documents and services,” Bennet and Hickenlooper said in their letter. “Poor and inconsistent USPS service not only falls short of community expectations; it violates their trust in USPS.”

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