Local politicians send complaint letter to USPS demanding answers

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Many people say they’re having problems with the postal service. So this week, a handful of local politicians sent a letter to the postmaster general demanding answers.

>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<

Locals tell Action News Jax delivery delays have gotten worse over the past couple months, and they never know when they will receive a delivery for an important document like a passport or even medications.

[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]

Tuesday, Georgia U.S. Representative Buddy Carter wrote a letter to the United States Postmaster General citing problems with people receiving their mail late.

The letter said, “It is unacceptable for your tenure atop this department to stain a more than two-century-old reputation.”

Several local congressmen signed this letter, including U.S. Representative Michael Waltz.

“If you don’t get a driver’s license or car registration or passport or social security check, that could have huge consequences for everyday Americans,” Waltz said.

Waltz says his office alone has received dozens of complaints over the last several months about missing documents or major delays leading to serious consequences for some. And he says he wants to hold the post office accountable.

WATCH LIVE AT 9 PM: 2024 Presidential Debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump

“We received complaints of people not getting their passports, IRS refunds, government ID important letters from Social Security or Veterans Affairs and so very real consequences,” Waltz said.

Waltz says there seems to be a problem with the regional postal distribution office in Jacksonville which serves south Georgia and northeast Florida.

“I [would] mail a check to a vendor on Monday and see it come through my bank at the end of the week,” Jacksonville resident Greg Ghioto said. “Now, it’s by the end of the following week.”

Ghioto say he has noticed mail delivery has slowed down significantly over the past several months. He says it’s gotten so bad it’s affecting his business.

“I don’t want a vendor calling me and saying – which has happened? You know, ‘Hey, you’re past due.’ I said, ‘Well, I mailed it a week and a half ago,’” Ghioto said.

And this isn’t the first time it’s happened. Action News Jax spoke with a woman last November who hadn’t gotten her medication for several days.

“That has been a nightmare,” Kimberly Anderson told Action News Jax Robert Grant last year. “I did not realize how much I depended on the postal service. Especially for my medications,”

Action News Jax Annette Gutierrez reached out to her this week, and she says it has since been fixed.

The letter asked the postmaster to respond by tomorrow.

The USPS sent a statement to Action News Jax saying, “The postal service will provide a written response directly to representative carter, per our established process.”

[SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]

Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.