Cartwright Works to Ensure Postal Service Delivers for Northeastern Pennsylvanians
Eighth Congressional District, PA – Today, U.S. Representative Matt Cartwright (PA-08) held a virtual meeting with a Northeastern Pennsylvania resident to discuss how he is working to ensure the U.S. Postal Service continues to deliver mail efficiently, as millions of Americans will count on the mail to enable them to vote safely from home amid the pandemic.
Cartwright was joined by a constituent who discussed their recent experiences with the Postal Service. Shirley Meryweather of Monroe County explained that her husband is a veteran who gets his prescriptions delivered via U.S. mail, and that they are concerned about how the growing backlogs could affect the delivery timing. She also stressed that both her and her husband voted from home in the primary election and plan to do so again in November. They want to be sure that their ballots will be received in a timely manner.
Cartwright expressed concern with recent operational changes implemented by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy that have delayed delivery of lifesaving prescriptions, Social Security benefits, and paychecks, including in our rural communities. Cartwright discussed legislation that will be considered in the U.S. House later this week, the Delivering for America Act, which prohibits the Postal Service from implementing any changes to operations or level of service it had in place on January 1, 2020.
“The Postal Service is easy to take for granted. But it is an essential service that Americans rely on to get their prescriptions, Social Security and VA benefits, paychecks, ballots and tax returns,” Cartwright said. “But recent changes made at the highest levels of USPS leadership have begun to cause frustrating delays. That isn’t fair to my constituents, and it isn’t fair to the postal workers, who want to do their job and deliver the mail for their friends and neighbors. I am working to guarantee that we have a fully functional postal service that Americans can trust."