WASHINGTON (KFGO) – U.S. Sens. Tina Smith and Amy Klobuchar have asked the U.S. Postal Service Inspector General to conduct a full audit of the Minnesota-North Dakota District after numerous reports of delayed and unreliable mail service across Minnesota.
In a letter to the Inspector General, the senators said Minnesotans rely on the Postal Service as an essential public service for deliveries like medicine, Social Security checks, paychecks, and communication with loved ones, especially in rural communities. They said the Postal Service is falling short in meeting the reasonable expectations of Minnesotans.
“Even more concerning is that attempts to elevate the concerns of Minnesotans to the USPS have either been dismissed or met with assurances that everything is fine—that the reports of our constituents are incorrect,” the senators said. “This lack of transparency deepens our concern that the serious issues in the MN-ND district are not receiving adequate attention.”
Specifically, Smith and Klobuchar are asking the Inspector General to look at the accuracy of Postal Service data reporting, staffing and recruitment, areas with the most disruption, and whether the Postal Service could operate to service standards with a full workforce.
The Office of the Inspector General is an agency within the USPS that conducts independent oversight of Postal Service operations.