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Norton Receives Response from Postal Service on District-Wide Mail Delivery Problems

April 30, 2021

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) received a response today to her April 26th letter to Acting D.C. Postmaster Eddie Masangcay regarding undelivered and delayed mail throughout the District of Columbia. Norton wrote after learning of mail being lost or severely delayed at a time when mail delivery is particularly important during the pandemic and with mail containing life-saving medications, tax and financial documents and bills.

"I appreciate the Acting Postmaster's response by today's deadline," Norton said. "Staff shortages due to COVID-19 and permitted employee leave are understandable, but the indication that the acting postmaster is doing additional hiring and overtime are particularly urgent. My office will monitor reports of progress or problems."

Acting Postmaster Masangcay's response in full is below.

April 30, 2021

The Honorable Eleanor Holmes Norton

House of Representatives

Washington, DC 20515-5101

Dear Congresswoman Norton:

This responds to your April 22 and 23 letters concerning mail delivery service in Washington, D.C.

As the newly appointed acting Postmaster of Washington, D.C., I appreciate this opportunity to respond to your concerns about delayed mail delivery service in Ward 5 and throughout the district. Please know that I understand the extent to which our customers rely upon the U.S. Postal Service for timely, accurate, and efficient delivery of their mail. Moreover, you can be assured that it is the goal of our management team as well as our delivery employees to provide our customers with high-quality, reliable service.

Unfortunately, we continue to experience challenges with employee availability largely related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which has contributed to inconsistent delivery service. As you know, the American Rescue Plan Act expanded employee leave to respond rightly to the pandemic, with the foreseeable consequence that employee availability has been affected. In response to the staffing shortage, employees are being loaned to facilities where needed and management is monitoring staffing levels daily and maximized resources, including the use of overtime, in an effort to alleviate delivery delays. Furthermore, we are continually seeking to hire additional employees and making every effort to deliver mail as expeditiously as possible given the circumstances.

In my brief tenure in the Postmaster position, I have sought to be responsive to the community. I joined in a virtual meeting on April 22 with Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 8, at your request, to discuss service issues, and I provided my contact info to the participants. I also have been in communication with a representative of ANC 5. I plan and expect to participate in more community contacts in the future. Nevertheless, I regret any inconvenience of frustration that our customers have experienced as a result of inconsistent service, and I appreciate their patience as we work through these difficult but temporary issues with employee availability.

If I can be of assistance with other postal issues, please let me know.

Sincerely,

Eddie N. Masangcay

Postmaster (A)

Washington DC