A key element to the OIG’s mission is to keep Congress fully informed of problems and deficiencies relating to Postal Service programs and operations. Sometimes that means sharing our reports with Congress, and other times it means responding to reported problems and testifying before Congress.

Following a request by Maryland Congressmen Ruppersberger and Mfume, the OIG issued an audit report in November 2021, examining mail delivery issues at nine Baltimore post offices. Recognizing that root causes of mail delays can happen before mail even gets to the post office, we also examined the efficiency of operations at the Baltimore Processing and Distribution Center, releasing that audit report in December of last year.

Congress believed there were still questions to be answered, and the Government Operations Subcommittee of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform held a hearing last week on the issue, Waiting on the Mail: Postal Service Standard Drops in Baltimore and the Surrounding Area. Our Deputy Assistant Inspector General for Audit Melinda Perez testified on the reports as well as our agency’s other work on service performance of the Postal Service. Other witnesses included the Acting Executive Postmaster for Baltimore, a mail processing clerk and shop steward from a Baltimore-area facility, and an executive from a local non-profit who relies on the mail for incoming and outgoing payments.

The members of Congress had a number of questions for the witnesses, focusing on the continuing poor service performance as well as local staffing problems in Baltimore. There were also questions directed towards DAIG Perez on mail theft in the Baltimore area.

Want to know more about the hearing? You can find a page on the hearing on our website, including our testimony, and links to our related work, and a link to the recording of the hearing.