A SENATOR SEEKS ANSWERS.

• Author: Lueders, Bill
• Position: Senator Tammy Baldwin, Democrat of Wisconsin, on new postal service policies

On August 3 of last year, U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin, Democrat of Wisconsin, wrote a letter to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy. She said she had been hearing from constituents about mail delivery problems, and that her office had received photos of "mail being left behind" at a distribution center in southern Wisconsin, both apparently related to new Postal Service policies.

"The Postal Service," she reminded DeJoy, "is vital for small businesses, seniors, and rural communities, and the COVID-19 pandemic has made the mission of the Postal Service more important than ever, as letter carriers deliver life-saving medications to individuals isolated at home during this public health crisis and millions of Americans are voting with mail-in ballots in order to stay safe."

Baldwin asked DeJoy several questions about the changes and their impact. According to Baldwin's office, there was no reply. Nor did DeJoy respond to her follow-up letter of August 17, sent right as Baldwin joined with other Senate Democrats in urging DeJoy to fix delivery delays and not do anything to make it harder to vote.

Again, Baldwin asked for answers, calling the delivery delays "an unacceptable threat to the Postal Service and the millions of Americans who depend on it." Again, there was no response. Her letter of August 25, asking DeJoy to explain the removal of mail-sorting machines and other "harmful operational changes and directives," also went unanswered.

Baldwin did not give up. In an October 20 letter, she raised concerns about DeJoy's alleged lack of compliance with federal court orders regarding the handling of election mail. She included photographs taken by a postal employee showing "signs...