ATLANTA — U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff is among the lawmakers promising to continue the pressure when it comes to fixing Georgia's postal problems.
The senator last week issued a deadline on Monday, June 17 for Postmaster General Louis DeJoy to provide updates on performance data for the state.
Dejoy answered Ossoff in a letter on Monday, stating that service has continued to recover since a May 30 tour. According to data given for June 1 through June 7, 74.94% of First-Class incoming mail has been delivered on time. In the letter, the Postmaster General also mentioned he agreed with the senator's sentiment that postal workers deserve the infrastructure needed to help deliver mail.
"However, as a result of over a decade-long consequence of terrible Congressional legislation and the resulting regulation, our infrastructure and work environment in the Atlanta area has deteriorated to an embarrassing and unworkable condition," Dejoy stated. "I am confident that my team and I are focused on creating a Postal Service that will successfully serve the American people for decades to come by confronting the extraordinary circumstances facing not only Atlanta but all the nation in a responsible and methodical manner."
In response, Ossoff said that he has sustained pressure on USPS' management for months to fully resolve the issues and will continue to do so.
"I'm still hearing from Georgia families and businesses about the difficulty they continue to face sending and receiving their mail," Ossoff said. "I will not rest until my constituents are well and fully served by the U.S. Postal Service.
In general, this comes after months of significant delays stemming from the launch of the new regional processing and distribution center in Palmetto.
The push for more information from Ossoff arose as the 60-day mark came and went since senators grilled DeJoy during a Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing on April 16.
"You've got weeks, not months to fix this," Ossoff, a member of that committee, told DeJoy at the time.
The facility in question, the new RP&DC in Palmetto, launched in late February, marking the significant consolidation of four regional facilities from across Georgia into a mega processing site. The Palmetto facility was also one of the first rollouts as facilities like it in the U.S., part of the postal service's 10-year 'Delivering for America' plan. That plan was first announced in 2021 as part of a $40 billion effort to streamline services and save money. Yet, mail service in Georgia declined dramatically after the Palmetto facility launched.
The results subsequently took the national spotlight, with senators concerned about the DFA's implementation.
"We apologize for the issues that occurred, and the team is working very, very hard," DeJoy told 11Alive in a one-on-one interview in D.C. after the hearing, "And I hope that everybody gives us a chance to see these investments pay off."
During the hearing, DeJoy testified to senators that operations in Georgia should be back to normal within 60 days. Yet, operations have not normalized yet, and in May, the postal service announced a pause on similar changes at some other facilities across the country, marking a notable hold on parts of the DFA implementation until 2025.
Meanwhile, viewers continue to email 11Alive about the impact on their businesses, tax returns and credit scores. Employees inside the facility also report that space at the Palmetto site continues to be a problem.
While the postal service has repeatedly ignored 11Alive's questions and declined requests to visit the facility, postal leaders did send a letter to Georgia's Congressional Delegation on April 22, acknowledging the challenges of the facility, saying "this activation has been the most complex to date for DFA, and the scale of change is massive." That letter also detailed steps underway to manage the transition, including:
- Ongoing operational meetings held 7 days a week/twice daily to drive improvements in the region for our customers
- Revising transportation schedules for better alignment from the RPDC to the other local processing plants
- Increasing local trips as necessary to improve service
- Assigning and dedicating additional executive staff and experienced operational leaders
- Adding additional processing capacity in other local processing centers
- Shifting cross-country volume away from the RPDC, as appropriate, until service stabilizes
The postal service has not answered specific questions about an updated timeline on when normal service will resume. However, a spokesperson responded Tuesday morning with a statement which reads in part:
"Regarding questions about service improvements, we remain committed to sustaining the improvements already seen in the Atlanta area, which are on a positive trajectory – a situation we anticipate will only continue in the coming weeks. This information has also been shared with Senator Jon Ossoff (D-GA) in a response sent to his office yesterday, June 17. In mid-March, service performance for First Class Mail was 35.82%. Our upward trend can be seen in scores for First Class Mail for the period of May 18-24, which showed an increase of nearly 30 percentage points, coming in at 64.5%."
The spokesperson also provided performance data, which is currently not published via the USPS public dashboard, for the first week of June. That provided data indicates 80% on-time delivery for First Class mail (composite score) for June 1-7.
"You can see from the figures that the entire Postal Service team is working extremely hard to sustain these positive results in Georgia and provide the service our customers deserve and want," the spokesperson shared. The postal service did not answer questions about whether volume is still being shifted away from the facility or whether other solutions are ongoing.
"It's not just about statistics at the postal service," Sen. Jon Ossoff said prior to receiving DeJoy's response. "This is prescriptions in the mail. This is supplies for small businesses. This is products to markets. This is vital legal correspondence, eviction notices, mortgages getting paid."
Ossoff reiterated that restoring service remains critical for Georgia families and businesses. The senator called any further delays unacceptable.
"The Postmaster General cannot be fired by the President," he continued. "He cannot be fired by the Congress. What I can do is shine a relentless spotlight on his performance and apply maximum pressure consistently in public for him to improve."
Those experiencing delays or who have not received mail can contact the newsroom with your concerns as we continue to cover this story. Fill out our online form below, and someone from our news team will follow up with you.