Earlier this year, the United States Postal Service (USPS) consolidated the North Georgia Processing and Distribution Centers (PDC) to a new Regional Processing and Distribution Center in Palmetto, Georgia. Palmetto is very interstate- and airport-adjacent but, at about 40 minutes southeast of Atlanta, it is not exactly North Georgia-adjacent. After weeks of delayed delivery – or a total lack of delivery, two Georgia congressmen are demanding answers.
“Mail delays and USPS operational breakdowns occurring throughout the state are deeply troubling and require both rigorous oversight and additional transparency from USPS to all those affected. These major disruptions deeply impact many of my constituents who depend on USPS to pay their bills, receive their paychecks, file their taxes, send their ballot, and in some cases get medications and other life-saving products,” said U.S. Rep. Loudermilk (R-GA 11). “All Georgians and Americans deserve to have secure access to their mail without disruption. My office is working diligently to ensure these matters are quickly resolved and I invite Postmaster General Louis DeJoy to Georgia to see the service impacts himself.”
U.S. Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA 9) says that his office has received a nearly 90 percent increase in constituent communications regarding mail and package delays. One North Georgia resident said costly late fees being assessed on bills and their business’ credit being in jeopardy due to the more than a month late arrival of checks sent through USPS. A Blairsville resident is worried that she is at the mercy of the mail delivery system to receive her life-saving medications. A quick search for the Blairsville zip code using the USPS’ own performance tracking system shows that delivery is taking more than twice as long now as it did last year.
“The current mail delivery situation throughout North Georgia is completely unacceptable, and it is clear that USPS must immediately divert resources to the region to prevent the ongoing suffering of my constituents,” said Rep. Clyde. “Furthermore, it is clear that USPS’ poor planning for the transition and consolidation of operations into the Palmetto facility is to blame for the extensive mail delays seen across the North Georgia region. As a member of the House Committee on Appropriations, which provides extensive federal funds to the Postal Service Fund each fiscal year, I am demanding accountability and answers for the residents of North Georgia who continue to suffer every day due to USPS’ incompetent transition and consolidation plan for the Palmetto facility.”
For most, the mail is not life or death, but for some of those like the woman in Blairsville, it could be. And there is another wrinkle for rural residents – voting. Rep. Loudermilk is urging constituents to secure their ballot at a drop-box location rather than sending it through the mail. Unlike some states that allow ballots to continue to be counted as long as they are post-marked by election day, Georgia requires mailed absentee ballots to be received by the appropriate county board of registrars by the end of voting on Election Day.
