USPS Office of Inspector General Issues Report Addressing Congressman Trone’s Inquiry Regarding Western Maryland Postal Delays
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 14, 2022
Contact: Sasha Galbreath, sasha.galbreath@mail.house.gov
USPS Office of Inspector General Issues Report Addressing Congressman Trone’s Inquiry Regarding Western Maryland Postal Delays
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In response to a February request by Congressman David Trone (MD-06), the United States Postal Service (USPS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) published an audit report examining service delays and disruptions in Western Maryland. The report confirmed Trone’s concerns regarding postal delays, and it recommended that a study be conducted to confirm that moving processing operations would improve service.
In 2012, the Cumberland Processing Center was shuttered and consolidated into the Baltimore Processing and Distribution Center (P&DC). As a result, local mail sent from Allegany and Garrett Counties that is addressed to the Western Maryland area must travel 280 miles round trip to be processed at the Baltimore P&DC. The route to the Cumberland Post Office is one of the worst performing routes out of the Baltimore P&DC, arriving late 42 percent of the time. In the one year period beginning in April 2021, the Western Maryland area has received some of the lowest service performance scores in the Chesapeake Division.
The report identified four mail processing facilities closer to the Cumberland Post Office that maintain better service performance, processing efficiency, transportation costs, and timeliness compared to the Baltimore P&DC. Transitioning mail processing to a combination of two closer facilities (the Johnstown and Pennwood Place P&DCs) could increase First-Class Mail service performance for Western Maryland by as much as 12.8 percent.
OIG concluded that continuing to route mail through the historically low-performing Baltimore P&DC could result in sustained disruptions to Western Maryland service. USPS management responded to the OIG report, writing that they will study the area as part of the Delivering for America network modernization effort with a target implementation date of March 31, 2023.
“Reliable postal service is critical for Western Maryland, where many lack broadband access and rely heavily on mail to pay bills and get prescriptions filled. I frequently hear from constituents who have had their mail delayed or even lost,” said Congressman David Trone. “I’d like to thank the USPS Office of Inspector General for conducting a thorough investigation to get the ball rolling on this important issue. I am committed to seeing this through; we owe it to Western Marylanders to get this right.”
Congressman David Trone was elected to the House of Representatives in November 2018 to serve the 6th District of Maryland, which includes all or part of Montgomery, Frederick, Washington, Allegany, and Garrett Counties. Trone serves on the Appropriations, Veterans’ Affairs, and Joint Economic Committees. In Congress, Trone is fighting to make progress on issues that matter to Marylanders, including the mental health and addiction crises, criminal justice reform, and funding for medical research.
Follow Congressman Trone at @RepDavidTrone for updates on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
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