Norton to Hold D.C. Postal Service Roundtable to Seek Solutions to Postal Issues in the District

WASHINGTON D.C. – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) will host a D.C. Postal Service Roundtable on Wednesday, August 6 at One Judiciary Square from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m to discuss issues of concern to District of Columbia residents about postal service in the city. The Postmaster of the District of Columbia, Postmaster Gerard A. Roane, representatives from the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) and the American Postal Workers Union (APWU), and District residents will be on the panel. Norton's office is in the process of selecting a few residents for the panel and invites residents who wish to participate to first email their postal concerns or experiences to NortonEvents@mail.house.gov with "Postal Service" in the subject line. For questions about the roundtable, residents should call Norton's main district office at (202) 408-9041. Among the concerns that have been raised are customer service, after-dark mail delivery, lost and stolen mail, letter carrier safety, and responsiveness to customers.

"The Postal Service receives no federal funds for its operations and has been mandated by Congress to operate like a private business," Norton said. "Yet Congress mandates the use of much of the Postal Service's revenue. Nevertheless, the Postal Service must find a way to serve its customers effectively and to ensure the safety of its workers if it is to continue as a national organization ranked as one of the most trusted companies in the United States. We want to hear the full story and get recommendations from all involved – residents, management, and employees. We see the roundtable as a problem-solving session to help improve postal service here."

Last year, Norton wrote to United States Postal Service (USPS) Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe after the death of USPS letter carrier Tyson Barnette to request that further efforts be made to ensure the safety of letter carriers at night. In February of this year, Norton joined Representative Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and other members of the Maryland congressional delegation in a letter to Patrick Donahue 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.

Congress requires the USPS, unlike any other federal agency or private organization, to prefund future retiree health benefits. This mandate has caused major problems in the USPS' ability to fund critical on-the-ground services. Norton and other congressional Democrats have offered several suggestions for relaxing the prefunding to allow more postal revenue to go to operations.