{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://wagner.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/wagner-hosts-postmaster-general-meeting-accountability-transparency", "Wagner Hosts Postmaster General for Meeting on Accountability, Transparency on Mail Delivery Issues", "2025-11-21", "2025", "2025-11", "Republican", "House", "MO", "Ann Wagner", "W000812", "wagner.house.gov", "wagner", "https://wagner.house.gov/media-center/press-releases", "scraper", "Washington, D.C. \u2013 Congresswoman Ann Wagner (R-MO) released the following statement after she brought in U.S. Postmaster General David Steiner to speak to a Missouri and Illinois-area Congressional delegation on recent delivery issues in our community:\n\n\u201cI have long been committed to holding the United States Postal Service (USPS) accountable for the appalling mail delivery issues that have affected so many families, businesses, and communities in Missouri's 2nd District and our greater St. Louis area.\n\n\u201cMissourians need and deserve a functional Postal Service. But for the last several years\u2014dating back to at least 2022\u2014severe dysfunction has plagued service in our area, due to systemic problems, inefficiencies, and major adverse events like mercury spills and the bankruptcy of a major contractor. USPS\u2019s failure to quickly address these problems and restore timely, accurate, and efficient service in the Saint Louis area has harmed our community. From missing wedding invitations and family gifts to critical items like utility bills, Social Security checks, prescription medications, and, most importantly, absentee ballots that ensure your vote is counted, these failures have gone on far too long.\n\n\u201cI first sent a letter to former-Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, in February 2024, highlighting a local veteran, who missed a medical appointment due to late mail and demanding a remedy to staffing shortages. I then followed up with a September 2024 letter, joined by my Missouri colleagues, raising concerns over late absentee ballots in the August primary. Together, we led the call for the USPS Office of Inspector General to conduct an audit of our region\u2019s postal operations to determine the cause of unsustainably inconsistent mail delivery. Then again in April 2025, my Missouri colleagues and I sent yet another letter to ensure a proper audit of the St. Louis region was carried out. This work led to yesterday\u2019s long overdue meeting with Postmaster General Steiner that was bipartisan and included my colleagues from throughout Missouri and Illinois.\n\n\u201cWe presented a united front to tackle the systemic issues directly affecting our constituents\u2014from everyday mail delays disrupting lives to election failures undermining democracy. The meeting included a robust question-and-answer session where we pressed for specifics on audit findings and future reforms.\n\n\u201cDuring the discussion, the Postmaster General was forthright, acknowledging \u2018embarrassing\u2019 service failures, particularly in the middle of the country. I was pleased to hear that he monitors service standards reports regularly and has noticed unacceptably bad performance in our region. It was encouraging to hear there have been vast improvements in average delivery times, but work is still ongoing to resolve the remaining severe delays.\n\n\u201cMomentum is building toward real change. Service is stabilizing, but I am not satisfied yet. I will continue to work to ensure your mail is delivered on time and that the United States Postal Service is transparent and accountable to our community.\u201d\n\nBackground\n\nThe August 2025 OIG audit exposed deep-rooted inefficiencies, including:\n\nA record backlog of over 2.5 million delayed mail pieces\u2014the largest in USPS audit history\u2014worsened by management instructing employees to hide delays in data systems.\n\nChronic staffing vacancies, unchecked truancy, and inadequate supervision, leading to operational breakdowns.\n\nIncomplete maintenance and poor compliance, causing 40% of outbound trucks to be late or canceled due to shortages and congestion.\n\nA complete failure of management to identify issues or enforce procedures, risking security for items like registered mail.\n\nThese failures culminated during Franklin County's April 2025 municipal election, where 350 absentee ballots arrived too late to be counted\u2014some as late as August 20\u2014disenfranchising Missourians who relied on the USPS to uphold their Constitutional right to vote.\n\nIn response, Rep. Wagner led a bipartisan, bicameral letter, in September 2025 demanding a meeting with new Postmaster General Steiner to discuss action plans for OIG recommendations, delay resolutions, election integrity, community impacts, leadership reforms, transparency, and personnel accountability.\n\nMeeting Takeaways\n\nKey improvements discussed include:\n\nOctober metrics showing 86% of First-Class Mail being delivered on time.\n\nEnhanced customer service protocols.\n\nBest practices for absentee ballots to improve tracking and coordination.\n\nPersonnel and leadership changes, including new positions filled by proven managers from around the country.\n\nFull staffing at facilities with pending Inspector General verification.\n\nInfrastructure upgrades for two core facilities over 3-5 years and expanding another facility by 60% to handle 400,000 packages daily, as well as the installation of a new scanning machine to cut manual sorting in half.\n\nRelieving congestion in the St. Louis area by diverting cross-country mail from St. Louis to a new, larger Olathe, Kansas facility (near Kansas City) as of November 15, shifting mail to air transport, and redirecting major customers temporarily.\n\nThe Postmaster General reported that service metrics are improving, with a focus on making the system more resilient. And we secured a pledge from the Postmaster General to provide a written update after the holiday peak season, including an honest assessment of progress and remaining needs.\n\nCongresswoman Wagner\u2019s office will continue monitoring progress intently, especially during the holidays, and push for full accountability to prevent future disruptions. This includes regular follow-ups with the USPS, working closely with the Missouri delegation on oversight, and advocating for sustained implementation of the OIG recommendations. We will schedule additional meetings as needed and ensure transparency remains a priority to rebuild public trust.\n\nFor real-time updates on service performance, you can visit the USPS public-facing transparency portal, where you can check your mail metrics by ZIP code and mail type.\n\nConstituents experiencing issues should contact Rep. Wagner\u2019s Ballwin office at (636) 779-5449 or on her website Wagner.House.Gov.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:52:45Z"]], "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://wagner.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/wagner-hosts-postmaster-general-meeting-accountability-transparency"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.3986160047352314, "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"}