Rural Americans Prepared to Battle US Postal Service

(ReclaimingAmerica.net) – Residents of rural regions of the United States are fed up with delayed deliveries by the US Postal Service, with seven towns in Colorado exploring a potential lawsuit.

Degraded USPS services are increasingly becoming an issue for rural America, The Wall Street Journal reveals in a report cited by Newsmax.

“Christmas cards began arriving in February, but what’s not funny at all is driver’s licenses, disability payments, election ballots, prescriptions,” commented Silverthorne Town Manager Ryan Hyland, who serves 4,500 residents

“This is like a wildfire, and I’m not seeing regional or national Postal Service officials treating it like the disaster it is,” he added.

A few years ago, officials in Western Colorado towns began noticing that the reliability of the US Postal Service was deteriorating.

The WSJ reveals that seven towns have now hired lawyers to consider options for legal action under the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006.

The USPS refused to comment on the matter. However, the report notes it has struggled to hire new employees nationwide.

That is against the backdrop of an online shopping boom, and a USPS deals with Amazon and other online sellers for delivering shipments in rural areas.

It is noted that Postmaster General Louis DeJoy has been criticized by Democrats – such as US Senator Peter Welch of Vermont, who has described the situation as a “profound managerial failure.”

“We are at our wits’ end trying to get the Postal Service to do its job,” Welch told the Journal.

“Most of us are realizing it’s not just Vermont, it’s not just Colorado, it’s all across rural America,” he elaborated.

Nonetheless, DeJoy has rejected the criticism, especially regarding local delivery issues.

“The Postal Service can and will solve problems within our own power, but local economic conditions are not among them,” DeJoy wrote in a statement sent to the WSJ.

Last month, the postmaster general argued the changing economic landscape had created new challenges to the old structure of the US Postal Service and that it would take time to overcome those with proper reform.

“Unfortunately, there are some stakeholders around us stuck in the past, as far back as 2006, and I again ask that all stakeholders recognize the urgency we face in making the changes we are pursuing for the nation,” DeJoy told the Board of Governors meeting in February.

“We are dedicated to serving the American people as legislated by Congress. The revenue derived from the monopoly we have does not cover its cost-of-service performance. We must in an expeditious manner make the changes we are pursuing,” he added.