U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar is calling on the U.S. Postal Service to address ongoing mail service issues in the El Paso region.
In a letter to El Paso Post Master General Cindi J. Tabbot Friday, Sept. 5, Escobar, D-El Paso, sounded the alarm over “deep concern regarding prevalent (USPS) issues in the El Paso region that have been brought to her attention by constituents and postal workers alike,” a news release stated.
Escobar’s concerns are nothing new: during a meeting on Aug. 21 with Tabbot and other regional leaders, she noted that “our community needs answers to casework issues, updates on current and future operations and maintenance, staffing challenges, and infrastructure needs,” the letter states.
“USPS is an agency that my constituents seem to consistently have problems navigating, and in turn, open casework with my office,” she wrote. “There have been several types of USPS casework inquiries, with the most recent trend being El Pasoans not receiving mail at their designated cluster box for months on end.”
Escobar continues to be rebuffed by Postmaster General David Steiner, who took up his post in July under President Donald Trump.
Along with excoriating the USPS for its failure to address issues in the El Paso region, including a hole in the wall of the Northgate Postal Office that remains more than a year after a USPS vehicle drove through the wall, Escobar also posed 31 questions to Tabbot.
The questions fell along the following topics:
She requested that the agency provides a response to her letter by Oct. 1.
“I understand and appreciate the value of USPS and the postal workers who serve El Pasoans every day,” Escobar wrote. “That is why I do not take lightly my obligation to conduct oversight when I consistently hear from my constituents that USPS is not meeting acceptable standards in our region.”
“El Pasoans deserve high-quality USPS service,” she continued, “and I look forward to working together to do just that.”
Adam Powell covers government and politics for the El Paso Times and can be reached via email at apowell@elpasotimes.com.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: US Rep. Veronica Escobar demands USPS address El Paso mail delays, staffing issues
Reporting by Adam Powell, El Paso Times / El Paso Times
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