{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.blumenthal.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/blumenthal-urges-usps-action-to-ensure-servicemembers-overseas-can-receive-holiday-packages", "Blumenthal Urges USPS Action to Ensure Servicemembers Overseas Can Receive Holiday Packages", "2025-12-08", "2025", "2025-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "CT", "Richard Blumenthal", "B001277", "www.blumenthal.senate.gov", "blumenthal", "https://www.blumenthal.senate.gov/newsroom/press", "scraper", "[Hartford, CT] \u2013 U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal today wrote to the U.S. Postal Service urging swift action to establish and publicly share clear guidance about how holiday packages should be labeled and shipped to servicemembers overseas this holiday season.\n\nIn a letter to Postmaster General David Steiner, Blumenthal raises the case of Boxes to Boots Connecticut which had 844 of their 1139 holiday care packages for troops overseas inexplicably returned. Additionally, more than 100 packages are simply missing. USPS has yet to locate the missing packages or provide an explanation to the organization for why the packages were returned.\n\n\u201cIt has been a time-honored tradition for families and advocates to send holiday packages to our nation\u2019s military personnel deployed overseas. The men and women who serve our country in uniform are often away from family and friends during the holidays, and these packages have meaning and impact far beyond their contents. USPS must do right by our servicemembers by providing their families and advocates with a seamless, clear process for sending holiday packages\u2014all of which are sent to an APO address,\u201d Blumenthal wrote.\n\nIn addition to calling on USPS to publicly disseminate clear guidance and contact information for military families and organizations who are encountering similar obstacles, Blumenthal has asked for a USPS representative to directly contact Kristen Gauvin at Boxes to Boots Connecticut to resolve their issues and ensure the organization can deliver their care packages before the holidays.\n\nA full copy of Blumenthal\u2019s letter is available below and here:\n\nDecember 7, 2025\n\nDavid Steiner\n\nPostmaster General and Chief Executive Officer\n\nUSPS\n\n475 L'Enfant Plaza SW\n\nWashington, DC 20260-2200\n\nDear Mr. Steiner:\n\nI strongly urge you and the United States Postal Service (USPS) to take immediate action to ensure that our servicemembers deployed overseas are able to receive and enjoy their holiday packages. Specifically, I request that USPS establish and disseminate clear guidance about how the contents of such packages should be labeled and provide a point of contact who can assist military family and advocacy groups to ensure the prompt delivery of their holiday packages.\n\nAccording to Boxes for Boots\u2019s Connecticut representative, Kristen Gauvin, 1139 holiday packages\u2014all with similar labels\u2014were clearly labeled in accordance with newly adopted USPS regulations, yet 844 of these packages were returned and more than 100 are missing. Despite Ms. Gauvin\u2019s efforts to obtain guidance from USPS, no one has been able to explain why these 844 packages were returned and what the correct description and tariff code should be so that these packages can be quickly shipped and received before the holidays.\n\nIt has been a time-honored tradition for families and advocates to send holiday packages to our nation\u2019s military personnel deployed overseas. The men and women who serve our country in uniform are often away from family and friends during the holidays, and these packages have meaning and impact far beyond their contents. USPS must do right by our servicemembers by providing their families and advocates with a seamless, clear process for sending holiday packages\u2014all of which are sent to an APO address.\n\nWith the holidays rapidly approaching, time is of the essence; I request that you or a knowledgeable USPS representative contact Kristen Gauvin at 860-539-6391 as soon as possible to address this urgent matter. In addition, I request that you publicly disseminate clear guidance and contact information for other military families and advocates who may be encountering similar obstacles.\n\nIf you have any additional questions, please contact me or my State Director Rich Kehoe at (860) 258-6940.\n\nSincerely,\n\nRichard Blumenthal\n\nUnited States Senator\n\n-30-", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T20:09:11Z"]], "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://www.blumenthal.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/blumenthal-urges-usps-action-to-ensure-servicemembers-overseas-can-receive-holiday-packages"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4844790566712618, "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"}