Houston, TX. – Since before the start of the pandemic, many of you have complained about not getting your mail on time.
Every piece of mail that comes in and out of Houston is sorted and processed at the North Houston Processing & Distribution Center on Aldine Bender.
The largest and busiest in the United States, a recent audit by the Postal Services’ Office of The Inspector General revealed it has the highest overall delayed mail volume in the country.
“That’s unacceptable for the Houston region,” said U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia, (D) TX-29. U.S.
Representatives Garcia and Al Green held a news conference Tuesday afternoon after meeting with postal officials and auditors hours before. Both said they are not happy after officials and auditors failed to answer questions that were part of a letter sent to the OIG in September 2020.
The letter laid out their questions and concerns about irregularities with processing times and how these delays could hurt Houstonians who rely on the postal service for their medicines and benefits checks.
“They asserted that they could not answer because they did not have the right people there to answer,” Garcia said.
Mail concerns have been mounting across Houston in recent months.
Back In June 2021, Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher called for an investigation into three Houston area post offices after reports of stolen and lost mail. KPRC 2 reported that her office has been fielding complaints since May of 2019, more than 100 with the bulk of them being reported in the second half of 2020.
Adding to the mail delay concern are mail-in ballots.
“There are still some answers that have to be reconciled,” said Green.
As we get into election season, Green said it’s critical that each ballot is properly postmarked so they can be counted in time.
“Because that postmark has much to do with how the clerk will determine whether that ballot was mailed timely,” Green said.
KPRC 2 reached out to the U.S. Postal Inspector for a comment and is awaiting a response.