MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Despite a delay in closing three U.S. Postal Service locations in West Virginia and reducing hours at other sites, U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., is urging Postmaster General Louis DeJoy to maintain postal services.
Postal Service officials announced the plan in July, but DeJoy delayed the action after calls from postal workers opposing the actions.
Manchin, who toured four Postal Service locations on Friday, told reporters contacting DeJoy is difficult.
“He won’t talk to anybody,” Manchin said. “Not a congressman or a U.S. senator, which is unbelievable.”
Manchin previously wrote to DeJoy criticizing the planned action. He has also sponsored legislation to prevent the closure of any facility that opened before Jan. 27, 2020.
The senator’s stops on Friday included visits to the Sutton post office, the Clarksburg mail distribution center, the post office on Fairmont’s East Side neighborhood, and Morgantown mail distribution annex. Postal workers and local lawmakers joined Manchin for some of the stops.
“I’ve asked everyone on a local level and on a district level and higher-ups to please let me know if things are changing,” he said. “Interruptions of service could be costly to the confidence people have in this system.”
The Washington Post on Friday reported the Postal Service has warned 46 states and Washington, D.C. that it cannot guarantee election officials will receive absentee ballots on time as the agency undergoes cost-cutting actions.