Apologies offered for area mail delays

U.S. Postal Service officials apologized Thursday for recent mail delays in the Houston area, U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions said after a briefing between postal officials and lawmakers.

“They apologize for what happened. They recognize,” said Sessions, the chairman of the Subcommittee on Government Operations and the Federal Workforce. “They took full acceptance of that, and we are offering our support back, as we should.”

Postal Service representatives did not comment after the meeting, but the agency released a document acknowledging problems.

“Problems did occur in execution during time of transition between North and South Houston,” the statement said. “Some in our control, some outside — service (was) admittedly very poor in January.”

The Postal Service has not commented about the specific cause of the delay.

Sessions, a Republican who represents the Waco area, said the agency reported that its service had improved in recent days and that he was giving them the benefit of the doubt.

The meeting at the Missouri City Community Center, which U.S. Reps. Al Green and Sylvia Garcia also attended, came after congressional staffers met with officials for a tour of the South Houston Local Processing Center in Missouri City and the North Houston facility. The representatives were not allowed to tour the facilities because the Postal Service has a policy that doesn’t allow candidates to be in a service facility 45 days before an election.

The Postal Service said 15 staffers attended the tour.

It was the second tour for congressional staffers in two weeks. Staff members from the offices of Green and Garcia visited the Missouri City facility and the North Houston facility last week.

“It’s about making sure that all Texans get the mail delivery service that they expect, efficiently and on time,” said Garcia, whose district includes the North Houston facility.

Green, who represents the district that houses the South Houston Local Processing Center, has been emphasizing transparency about how these delays might impact mail-in ballots.

Sessions said the Postal Service said mail-in ballots are operating on time.

“The Postal Service has certified to me that there are no delays that would be expected or known at this time that would be of concern to people who would wish to vote by mail,” Sessions said.