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Another Texas congressman demands answers, action from USPS on Houston-area mail delays

Rep. Troy Nehls said he sent a letter to the USPS postmaster general about the postal problems we've been reporting on since mid-December.

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HOUSTON — After weeks of frustrating delays by the United States Postal Service, another Houston-area congressman is demanding answers. 

Since mid-December, we've heard from thousands of customers whose packages were stuck at distribution centers in Missouri City and north Houston. They've included prescription medication, valuable merchandise and orders impacting small businesses. 

Editor's note: The above video originally aired on Jan. 24.

U.S. Rep. Troy Nehls said he sent a letter to USPS Postmaster General Louis DeJoy this week, asking what's behind the backlog and what are they doing to fix the problem. He also asked for a Congressional briefing with his staff.

Nehls said his office has received over 50 complaints about the Missouri City facility. 

"Despite their efforts to reach out independently to USPS, many constituents have not had their issues addressed and instead are met with a hard-to-navigate online system, indifferent employees, and an automated telephone system with no regress, which has left them frustrated and without answers or their mail," Nehls said in a statement. 

The congressman said he's heard from veterans and elderly people who can't get their medications.

“The United States Postal Service’s mission is to provide prompt, reliable, and efficient mail services to the American people,” Nehls said. "These delays are completely unacceptable. I look forward to hearing the Postmaster General’s plan to address this serious situation.”

Read Nehls full letter: 

Longtime USPS employee blames equipment issue

On Wednesday, we talked to a longtime postal employee who said a new piece of equipment that was too big to fit inside existing facilities was to blame. 

He told us he's fed up with excuses and wants the public to know what's really causing the mail delays at two Houston-area processing centers.

The 30-plus year postal worker said the new parcel sorting machine was set to be installed during peak season, just before the holidays. It's so massive, they had to remove two other machines. 

"It's a whole mess," the employee said. "Every open space, aside from the hallways, has mail or trash sitting there."

We asked the U.S. Postal Service about his allegations. In their written response, they did not address the concern about the equipment we asked about. They did offer an explanation and said what was being done to get the mail moving. 

RELATED: 'A whole mess' | USPS employee says key piece of equipment is causing mail delays at Houston-area processing centers

In response to our questions, USPS issued this statement:

"We are aware of concerns from some local Houston customers regarding their mail delivery. We want customers to know that we continue the expansion of our operations in the Houston area because of increased volume and we are adding additional capacity with a new facility to improve service. The Postal Service has dispatched additional resources from the surrounding area and implemented improved processes to address root causes of sporadic issues to improve the reliability of mail delivery in the Houston area.  Customers should also note that multiple severe weather events in Houston and across the nation have impacted many transportation, logistics, and delivery companies, and the Postal Service is no exception. We express our apologies to those who experienced a deviation from our normal dependable service and customers should already see improvements in delivery as we work through these issues."

U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia also released a statement on Friday. 

“Together with Congressman Al Green we are jointly addressing the reported inefficiencies causing delivery delays at the USPS North Houston Processing Center in my District and Missouri City Processing Center in his. Both Distribution Centers have been a concern and source of constituent complaints. We are committed to ensuring the seamless operation of essential services for our constituents,” said Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia. “We recently met with USPS to ensure that our mail, medicine, and other essential items are making it to our constituents. We have received updates that USPS is dispatching additional resources and postal workers in both processing centers to address root causes of delays and improve the reliability of mail delivery in the Houston area. This is a step in the right direction but we will continue to work on this matter until regular and reliable mail service has resumed."

We brought the issues to the attention of Green last month and he continues pushing the postal service for answers and action. 

Green told us he's not satisfied with the postal service's latest statement.

“While I appreciate this written response, there are still many questions left open that only USPS can answer. Among these are questions related to how long this problem will persist and whom customers in need of urgent assistance can contact as the present system affords poor results," Green said in a statement. "USPS needs to provide more transparency, the type of transparency that can only be achieved with a press conference allowing for questions from the press to be addressed directly by USPS.”

Green said he was told extra employees were being brought in to help with delays. But he said that's not enough and that the large sorting machines are needed before things return to normal.

The congressman believes that could take months.

"Midsummer, a little later. I would be surprised if they have it cleaned up before April," he said. "I think that is generous."

Tracking the mail: Our stories on the postal delays  

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