{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://chrissmith.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=415791", "Lakewood Alerts article on Smith-led letter to U.S. Postmaster General'Jackson Officials Push USPS to Address Overcrowding, Traffic and Safety Concerns at Post Office'", "2026-08-12", "2026", "2026-08", "Republican", "House", "NJ", "Christopher H. Smith", "S000522", "chrissmith.house.gov", "chrissmith", "https://chrissmith.house.gov/news/documentquery.aspx", "scraper", "By Lakewood Alerts\n\nPublished August 12, 2026\n\nJackson Township officials are pressing the United States Postal Service for action over longstanding concerns at the Jackson Post Office on Bennetts Mills Road, including overcrowding, lengthy wait times, inadequate parking, staffing shortages and growing traffic and safety issues.\n\nResidents have repeatedly raised concerns about vehicles backing onto Bennetts Mills Road, traffic extending beyond the post office property and difficulties safely entering and exiting the busy facility.\n\nOn August 7, a formal letter was sent to U.S. Postmaster General David Steiner requesting a meeting to address what local officials described as an ongoing postal service crisis in the rapidly growing township.\n\nThe effort is being backed across multiple levels of government, with Congressman Christopher Smith, State Senator Owen Henry and Assemblymen Alex Sauickie and Robert Clifton joining Jackson Township officials in calling for improvements.\n\nAmong the solutions being urged are the establishment of a second full-service post office in Jackson, a significant expansion and modernization of the existing Bennetts Mills Road facility, and immediate operational changes to improve staffing, reduce wait times and address traffic and public safety concerns while a permanent solution is developed.\n\nOfficials stressed that the situation has grown beyond an issue of inconvenience and has become a public safety concern.\n\nJackson has experienced tremendous population growth in recent years, while its postal infrastructure has failed to keep pace with the increased demand. Officials said residents deserve safe and reasonable access to essential postal services and vowed to continue working with USPS toward a long-term solution.", 1, "2026-08-13T06:17:16Z", "2026-08-13T06:18:13Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://chrissmith.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=415791"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.004680059850216, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}