NE Missouri News

Representatives Sam Graves (MO-06), Jason Smith (MO-08), Ann Wagner (MO-02), and Blaine Luetkemeyer (MO-03) have called on Postmaster General Louis DeJoy to request an audit by the United States Postal Service (USPS) Office of Inspector General. The focus is on the Hazelwood, MO Sorting and Distribution Center, with concerns over failures in delivering election mail on time and a new USPS proposal that could further delay mail in rural areas.

"The bottom line is that our constituents depend on USPS and cannot afford these continued failures," the lawmakers wrote. "Submitting a plan to further delay mail deliveries for rural Americans while continuing to increase postage rates because USPS leadership cannot effectively run their operation is totally unacceptable. Quite simply, Americans don’t want to pay more for worse service."

They continued: "While we are all incredibly thankful for the vital service that our letter carriers provide, we are concerned that their hands are tied because of unacceptable failures occurring at Sorting and Delivery Centers due to ineffective USPS leadership. It defies common sense that there is anyone in USPS leadership that can still honestly believe the best path forward is to further consolidate operations at these failing Sorting and Delivery Centers without any real plan to improve service."

The letter also requests USPS’s plan to address unreliable mail service in Eastern Missouri, a report on recent absentee ballot issues, and a strategy to address these failures before the November election. Additionally, it seeks details on how the proposed changes will impact each Post Office in the region.