Letter carrier Henrietta Dixon, a 30-year veteran, sorts mail to be delivered before she sets out on her route in Philadelphia. Changes within the Postal Service could make some deliveries late. (Matt Rourke/AP)
U.S. Sen. Bob Casey and 10 of Pennsylvania’s members of Congress on Tuesday asked President Donald Trump’s postmaster general to immediately return sorting machines that were removed, while union officials say the machines’ removal has contributed to a slowdown in mail delivery.
The letter to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy was signed by Casey (D-Pa.), all nine Pennsylvania Democrats in the U.S. House and one of its nine Republicans, U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Bucks County.
“Over the past several weeks we have heard from people in every county across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania who are gravely concerned about delayed mail delivery,” they wrote.
They say at least 30 letter-sorting machines have been removed from Pennsylvania mail facilities.
The partisan fight over postal service is casting a shadow over the coming presidential election, with millions in Pennsylvania expected to vote by mail amid the coronavirus pandemic.
In testimony during a six-hour House Oversight Committee hearing last week, DeJoy vehemently refused to restore decommissioned mail-sorting machines and blue collection boxes, saying they are not needed.
DeJoy also said he would continue policies limiting when mail can go out, as well as halting late delivery trips, which postal worker union officials in Pennsylvania said Tuesday are continuing to contribute to the slowdown in delivery around the state.
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