Norton and Maryland Delegation Members Urge Postmaster General to End Delayed Mail Deliveries

WASHINGTON, DC – After hearing from constituents who have not received mail delivery in over a week, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) joined Representative Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and other members of the Maryland congressional delegation in sending a letter today to Patrick Donahue, Postmaster General of the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), urging USPS to immediately devise a plan to protect worker safety in inclement weather and the evenings, and to ensure that no homes or businesses experience multiple-day delays. In addition to Norton and Van Hollen, the letter was signed by Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD), and Representatives Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD) and John Delaney (D-MD). Norton is a senior member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and a member of its Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, U.S Postal Service and the Census.

"We see progress in the agreement of the U.S. Postal Service to examine worker safety after the recent tragic killing of a postal service worker in Maryland," said Norton. "However, we have been stunned to learn of the absence of mail delivery altogether for days in D.C. and Maryland, something I have not seen before in this city, even in inclement weather. Surely the Postal Service is capable of delivering the mail before dark and on time, as it has for decades, without endangering its workers. We need to see specific remedies immediately."

Following the tragic death of Tyson Barnette, a USPS letter carrier who was killed while delivering mail after dark in Landover, Maryland last November, Norton wrote to Postmaster General Donahue regarding long-standing concerns about the risk of requiring postal employees to deliver mail after dark. She believes that an effective solution can be found that addresses worker safety and timely delivery.

Published: February 21, 2014