Rick Allen, other Ga. lawmakers push for postal improvements

AUGUSTA, Ga. – During this busy holiday shipment season, Georgia lawmakers are calling on the U.S. Postal Service to address key issues residents are reporting.

Rep. Rick Allen, R-Augusta, was among the 13 U.S. House members from Georgia who signed a letter to Postmaster General Louis Dejoy.

Rep. Mike Collins wrote the letter that said the agency’s operations are breaking down in Georgia and customers want better service.

“It’s every district in Georgia it seems like. We started reaching out to other members in the delegation here in Georgia, and they were telling us they’re seeing the same problems,” Collins said.

Collins said several of his constituents have been reporting problems.

“We’ve had people that have been calling and reporting things from mail missing, being stolen, irregular routes, people that are just not delivering the mail regularly,” Collins said.

Collins sent the letter to U.S. Postmaster Louis Dejoy on Wednesday, with signatures of support from 12 other Georgia lawmakers.

“So it’s just a simple ask of the Postal Service: What’s been going on? How are you monitoring? How are you going to fix it?” Collins said.

READ THE LETTER:

Collins told the agency he wants answers to the questions spelled out in the letter by Jan. 8, 2024.

However, this is not the first letter of concern sent to Dejoy from a Georgia lawmaker.

Back in September, Sens. Jon Ossoff and Rev. Raphael Warnock sent a letter to the postmaster to address the “unsatisfactory conditions” at a United States Post Office building in Greensboro becoming an eyesore and posing a “potential safety hazard.”

The U.S. Postal Service said it’s looking into specifics related to this matter.

Complaints from customers

Georgians said they want changes, especially around the holidays.

“Sometimes you show up to the post office and they say it’s open and it’s not open,” one resident said outside of the Howell Mill Midtown Atlanta post office.

Atlanta resident Adrina Phillips said: “I dropped this package off and the value of the package was like $250 and I guess they didn’t scan it in, and it went to the warehouse and supposedly got lost.”

Philips said she hopes the agency makes adjustments so holiday shipping improves.

“At least the post office being open late, and I guess more employees,” Philips said.

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